Sticky Situation or Success Starter?

BY DAVID DICENZO

Innovation is critical to all industries. In the automotive body world, the introduction of techniques like Glue Pull Repair (GPR) has changed the game.

GPR’s roots are in Paintless Dent Repair, originating in the backyards and garages of ambitious individuals looking for creative solutions to fix dents. It was first introduced as a viable commercial method in about 1999 by the German company Würth, and in the past few years, has become an established panel-straightening technique. GPR utilizes a variety of constantly evolving tools and tabs to make quick, less-invasive repairs that preserve a vehicle’s original paint.

Brock Birky gained his GPR knowledge from some of the trade’s original technicians. Birky is the Director of Business Development for KecoTabs, an Oklahoma-based tabs and tools manufacturer at the forefront of GPR’s growth. KecoTabs has been making plastic parts for 50 years but in the past decade, president Chris White has specialized in creating molded items specifically for GPR. The company has published a thorough how-to guide that is easy to understand and produces repeatable results. It emphasizes the 6 C’s: clean, check, choose, coat, correct, continue.

GPR tools are already amazing – and getting better. The next level for businesses like KecoTabs is educating their users.

Collision Repair: When did we first see GPR?

Brock Birky: Back in the late 1980s, it originated with homemade device tabs that people would manufacture themselves from things like wood and nails. They were crude tools attached to a panel to pull a dent out.

CR: What was the initial response to the technique?

BB: The first reaction was, ‘This is snake oil.’ Collision repair people figured there was no way it could be real and that there was some kind of camera action going on behind the scenes. Chris would go to trade shows and people just didn’t believe it. There were also many cheap options and the DIY aspect of GPR seemed to tarnish it.

CR: How has that image changed?

BB: It took some time to gain the trust in the reputability of the process. We’ve overcome that. GPR has gained notoriety in the collision repair space, especially over the past three or four years. Shops were familiar with it because the PDR tech that the boss contracted out was using it for small damage. We just expanded on that and created big tabs to correct larger damage. When we sell our systems to shops, we like to sell GPR kits first. One of the main differences is our process. It legitimizes us because there is a guide and standard operating procedure to follow and refer to.

CR: What do you see as the future of the industry and how do Original Equipment Manufacturers view GPR?

BB: We focus on providing the least invasive repair possible and GPR is that. We predict that OEMs will eventually begin to limit the amount of invasive welding you can do on a panel. If you’re going to repair the panel, it has to be cold pulls or glue pulls. Shops will have to keep up with what the requirements of a repair on a contemporary vehicle entail. There’s a huge OEM interest.

At KecoTabs, we continue to work on tab and adhesive technology, pulling techniques, refining the process, and making sure that everyone who has a GPR system at their shop is using it to its full capability.

The more information that we can get out there, the more we can implant it into the technicians. We say, ‘Hey, this kit in your shop, you’re using it wonderfully. But did you know you can do more?” They will do more work in less time. We just want to educate those in the market. I can’t tell the future, but I don’t see GPR going away anytime soon.

Visit kecotabs.com/pages/pull-to-paint to learn how to maximize GPR results.