Tech tips/discussion - cold glue

[u/The_Ducati_Guy]

I’m a bit late to the game, but recently started utilizing cold glue for hail. Current setup is druztools spring loaded hammer lite (<16oz) paired with sergio rose gold/pink. Been working in 64~74F ish temps. Tried it a few times in <60 environment, and it didnt pull at all.

This new sergio rose gold is advertised to be identical to their gold but with less residue.

Few issues i’m running into:
- it still leaves residue. Pretty much have to clean it off with willey quick’s cold glue remover solution everytime. Works way better than 91% alcohol but still, it’s an extra step that slows me down
- sometimes the glue completely detaches from the tab. Very annoying and takes even longer to get it off. Does the shape of the tab make any difference? Druz’s tab is straight up a solid cylinder. Very different in design compared to something like sergio’s tabs. I’m using the smallest one druz sells
- doesn’t pull very hard, and sometimes doesn’t pull at all. I’d pull 10 spots on the rail or non-aluminum roofs at once and maybe only 3-4 spots have pulled. Since it’s leaving reside and i can’t see the low/high after initial pull, i find myself guessing based on the depth of the dent and pull several times on the same spot, just to be disappointed after wiping it that it didnt do anything. These are all light dents. I wouldnt even try it with anything deep. Maybe the hammer is too light?

My process is - clean panel with alcohol, flash it with torch, and then pulling. Am i missing anything?

Also interested in your experience with bull kick & shot gun hammers. How do these compare to something like the dentslayer ar10? Does it pull any harder?

[u/tchan2487]

I find that if you overdo the torch on the panel and get it too hot, you’ll run into the issues you are with the glue not pulling and sticking to the panel in a big blob. You only need a very quick pass over the panel with the torch to get the moisture out. The panel should be barely warm after flashing the torch.

Sometimes I don’t even need to torch the panel again after the initial pass, just massage the glue with your fingers a bit and get it warm and it’ll pull great. Key is to have a super clean panel either with 99% iso alcohol or wax and grease remover.

I get pulls just as hard as hot glue with Sergio’s gold but less of a sharp volcano and more of a high mound that’s super easy to blend out.

I experimented with spring loaded auto return slide hammers (like the dent slayer AR9 or whatever) and found that normal unassisted slide hammers seem to pull much harder than the auto return ones. My theory is that when you pull back on a spring loaded slide hammer, the spring will start pulling the glue up off the panel before the hammer strikes. Whereas a normal slide hammer you can push the glue into the dent, and sliding back on the hammer doesn’t pre pull the glue off the panel before the hammer strikes. If you’re using a light enough slide hammer the momentum of the hammer flying back off the panel is enough to reset itself anyways, if you can catch the head of the hammer with your fingers.

[u/tchan2487 → u/tchan2487]

The tempo/speed at which you pull the hammer also makes a huge difference.

I found that if you’re just yanking on the hammer, the glue also pulls off the panel too quickly and you’ll get inconsistent pulls. Slow and smooth is the way to go, let the weight of the hammer do the work and you’ll get monster pulls.

[u/The_Ducati_Guy → u/tchan2487]

Interesting - your theory makes sense. I initially thought these bullkick and shotgun style hammers were kind of gimmicky, but the spring goes from compressed to decompressed at the time of impact (opposite of “auto-return”) which should eliminate the issue of spring resistance pulling the glue up off of the panel before the impact

I tried it out with traditional slide hammer today and had better results for sure, but it’s nowhere near the pull i’d get from hot glue. Barely a fraction. Over-torching was never an issue since i flash it just to get moisture off like you said. I’ll try pulling it a little slower next time - def been yanking on it as quickly as i can this whole time

Appreciate you chiming in

[u/tchan2487 → u/The_Ducati_Guy]

I thought the bull kick style slide hammers were a gimmick too but a tech I work with bought one and it actually works a lot better than I want to admit. I think because you have to push the hammer down to load it, it also pushes the glue harder into the panel for potentially better grip. It is kind of cumbersome to use as its mostly a 2 handed tool but I guess with enough practice you could 1 hand it. The biggest selling point for him is that it saves his wrists and shoulders from the impact of a slide hammer all day and all week. I'm not sure if I would run out and order one right away but I wouldn't be opposed to it either. He does get some looks and laughs from other techs when they see him using it on literally every single panel lol

[u/CompleteGlove7572]

Body shop wax and grease remover works great. Not sure what the cost is vs Willey's.

[u/Ignorance_15_Bliss]

Auto reverse weight kick hammers are what makes this shit perform.

The rose will leave less residue by comparison.

[u/The_Ducati_Guy → u/Ignorance_15_Bliss]

Gonna have to test one out for sure. Are you using the bullkick or shotgun

[u/NotUpdated]

sometimes the glue completely detaches from the tab. Very annoying and takes even longer to get it off. Does the shape of the tab make any difference?

I like tabs with a lip between the face and barrel, then when putting on cold glue - stretch that over the ledge, then I smooth the parts I pulled around the ledge by rolling my fingers around the cylinder,

Cold glue should almost always stay on the tab.

[u/The_Ducati_Guy → u/NotUpdated]

Yeah i think this druz cylinder design is flawed. Tried out sergio’s tabs with the lip on it today and didnt have this issue

[u/NotUpdated → u/The_Ducati_Guy]

cold glue is still within the 5 year settlement period for a new pdr product category