Today, I'm going to give you three different examples of some hard-hit damage where I've used a Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit to help me out. In each example, I'm going to be setting up across the body line and then applying pulling pressure to the body line itself while simultaneously tapping down the crown. That releases the tension from the crown itself feeds the metal into the low and allows that metal to flow.
Example 1
First up, this Mazda and it's the passenger side rear door that's been hit pretty hard along the lower body line. It's really pushed the body line in and pushed out a lot of metal causing a really harsh crown below the dent itself. There's so much tension, it's really distorted pretty much the entire door skin so this repair took around five hours to do so. Let me give you a quick run through of how I’ve used the Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit to start getting some of this metal moving.
The full repair tutorial for this door repair is available within the Learn PDR Online training membership.
The Keco K-Bar is designed to give a lot of pull and power and it's very adjustable. Right now, I've got the rubber anchor point on the lower section of the seal that's a really strong part of the panel. I’m adjusting the main leverage point itself to make sure I've got a good angle to start pulling the damage.
Now, remember I'm not trying to fully pull out the dents at this stage. All I want to do is apply some pulling pressure to the body line itself, gently start to pull that out so that I can start to tap down the crown.
By tapping down the tension in the crown, I'm releasing some of it and feeding some of the metal into the low area across that body line that allows the metal to flow and make it much easier to start bringing that body line up.
By releasing a lot of that tension at the early stages, it's going to make the rest of this repair much easier and allow the metal to move or soften up so that I can start to work on the remainder of the dent.
Example 2
Now, let's take a look at the next setup. In this example, I'm working on the tailgate and once again, it's been hit pretty hard. It's taken in the body line and really forced the metal up so it's given me the primary crown just above the dent.
At this time, I'm using a large square gang green tab from Keco Tabs and it’s really giving me some good surface contact to allow good adhesion between the tab and the panel itself.
Again, I'm taking my time to set up the Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit to get the best results. It's really about getting the right angle so that you're pulling the metal out in the right direction and allowing that metal to move.
I've got my blending hammer with a rubber ball tip on and I'm just starting to soften up the crown with my left hand on the handle of the Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit. I'm gently pushing that out so that is giving me some pulling pressure on the body line itself and, with my right hand, I'm tapping down the crown.
Now that I've softened that crown you can really start to see that metal move as I pull that body line out. Relatively quickly, I'm able to reduce the overall size release some of that tension which allows that metal to flow and once again it's going to make that whole repair process so much easier for me to really make a nice job of this tailgate.
As I continue working that crown, feeding the metal down towards the body line, it’s starting to allow that metal to flow.
Again, the full repair tutorial for this tailgate is available within the Learn PDR Online training membership. For more details, you can check out this page.
Example 3
Moving on to my last example, we're taking a look at the passenger side rear door on a Peugeot. This time, I’ve got my Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit up with a downward pulling motion so I've got the rubber foot at the lower section of the door my handle at the top and I'm applying some pulling pressure to that body line. Having it set up in this angle means i can start to not only pull that dent out but start to pull it down.
I've really been enjoying using the Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit as it's got a lot of pulling power and a lot of control. Using the said tool, I'm able to not only pull out that damage but I'm able to control the direction that I'm pulling it in, which allows me to simultaneously tap down the tension, feed the metal into the low and give me a nice overall repair.
Now, that is important in the terms of the direction the metal flow. Whilst pulling it out and down I’m able to simultaneously tap the tension in that crown. Again, feeding the tension points that high spots in towards my low across the body line and that really starts to help that metal begin to move.
I'll give it a few pulls to allow some of that tension to be released and then this time I'm setting my Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit up in an upward pulling motion. So, I've got the rubber foot across the door pillars that is a strong section of the panel and my right hand on the handle. Through this position and technique, I'm able to start pulling the body line up.
Summary
I've really been enjoying using the Keco Glue Pulling K-Bar Kit as it's got a lot of pulling power and a lot of control. Using the said tool, I'm able to not only pull out that damage but I'm able to control the direction that I'm pulling it in, which allows me to simultaneously tap down the tension, feed the metal into the low and give me a nice overall repair.
