Glue Pulling Repair Becoming More Commonly Used in Auto Body Shops by Stacey Phillips
techniques because it does not remove e-coatings and corrosion proFor more than 30 years, collision re- tection applied to the panel by the pair technicians have experimented vehicle manufacturer,” noted White. with glue pulling repair (GPR) tech- “This yields a simpler, cleaner reniques to fix vehicles. pair that can significantly reduce the The tooling and techniques amount of body fillers and/or paint have improved over the years, al- to finish.” lowing an increasing number of auto White is currently receiving inbody shops to adopt GPR in quiries from hundreds of their facilities, according to shops a month interested in Chris White, president of adding GPR to their repair arsenal. KECO Body Repair Prod “Body work has been ucts. done for so long that a lot “Glue pull repair is of guys think there is only rapidly changing how collision repair work is done,” Chris White, pres- one way to fix a dent,” said ident of KECO Body said White. “It is the least Derek Heinrichs, manager Repair Products invasive, best-quality methof City Collision II in Pittsod to repair a dent today.” burgh, PA. After experiencing GPR KECO has more than 50 years first-hand and physically doing it, of experience in plastics. Founded in Heinrichs said they will continue us1963, the company was purchased ing this repair method in their body by White in 2004. Two years later, it shop. doubled in size and has continued to expand over the years. GPR is Not PDR In 2018, KECO opened a GPR Like paintless dent repair (PDR), facility and headquarters for body GPR aims to save as much of the repair products in Oklahoma City, original finish as possible so there’s OK. Today, the team manufactures little to no filling, priming and painttabs, tools and accessories and pro- ing at the end of the repair. In addivides training to dent and collision tion, no stud welding is required. repair technicians. Although GPR is similar to The company’s Level 2 GPR PDR in some ways, White said System was awarded the SEMA “GPR is not PDR.” 2021 New Product of the Year in However, he said, with much Collision & Refinish. more time and skill applied and During the SEMA with many times the use of Show, White teamed up additional PDR push tools, with Gene Fetty, KECO’s the GPR process can be a master technician, to share means to a full PDR. information about GPR GPR is mainly used as and demonstrate KECO’s a tool for conventional dent products. His presentation, repair and enables techni“Glue Pull Repair—Pull to Gene Fetty, KECO’s cians to avoid disturbing Paint, and Beyond,” was master technician or damaging the insulation part of the Society of Colliand sensitive electronics on sion Repair Specialists (SCRS) Re- the reverse side of the panel. pairer Driven Education Series and In addition, he said, technicians recorded for future viewing https:// experience less damage to the clear rde.scrs.com. coat and less distortion of the metWhite explained GPR is a al. This leads to less harmful dust, non-invasive cold straightening repair painting and replacement of panels. technique to pull dents with plastic “We’ve found over and over tabs in various shapes and sizes. The again that panels, particularly alutabs are adhered to a panel’s clear coat minum, that needed to be replaced with specialized hot melt glues and are now repairable,” he said. then pulled with lifting devices. A wide range of metals is com“This method of damage re- patible with GPR, including mild moval offers significant advantag- steel, high-strength steel and most es over traditional collision repair aluminum. However, he encourages 36 JUNE 2022 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
repairers always to check the OEM procedures. The GPR Continuum White encourages technicians to think of GPR in terms of a continuum—something that keeps changing slowly over time. “It is that process that can be used very aggressively to move a lot of metal and also a process that can be used with great finesse and detail to be able to move metal and finesse out to a finer finish,” he said. He shared a graph of a GPR continuum, which includes the types of effort related to the repair, as well as how much filler, glaze, sanding and painting are required. “Where you want to get to on the continuum is really based first and foremost on the economics of the repair,” explained White. The GPR Process Fetty then discussed the GPR process and demonstrated using it on vehicle damage that would have typically needed the panel replaced.
He stressed the importance of following KECO’s “6 Cs” process to have good strong pulls every time. The 6 Cs: 1. Clean: Always start with a clean panel for maximum adhesion. “Most of the time, all you need is 99% strength isopropyl alcohol,” he said. “Do not use paint thinner or other acetone-based products---anything that can attack the plastic.” Using a clean towel, follow up with isopropyl alcohol before using glue and tabs on the panel. The last step is to clean with 99% isopropyl alcohol, the glue’s release agent. 2. Check: This involves checking the temperature of the panel, ambient air, tabs and glue; the size of the dent; the type of metal; and where to start pulling. Fetty said temperature is probably the most overlooked part of a successful repair. “The right temperature will guarantee a strong pull,” he explained. “If the glue is See Glue Pulling Repair, Page 40
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