If you own a motorcycle, you know how important it is to keep it looking great. Unfortunately, accidents happen, and dents can occur. With Dent Evo Advanced Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), those unsightly dents can be removed without having to repaint your motorcycle's fender.
At Dent Evo, we specialize in Advanced PDR techniques that allow us to remove dents from your motorcycle quickly and cleanly. One of the most important things to understand about PDR is that it's all in the reflection. When you watch our video, you'll see the lines on the motorcycle fender go from distorted to straight as we work to remove the dent. This is how we know when we've done an exceptional job.
Slower is Faster
The key to successful PDR is taking the time to do it right. A very wise person once said, "Slower is Faster”, in reference to doing good clean work the right way, the first time. We know that it can be tempting to rush through a repair job, but taking the time to get it right is essential. In fact, this particular Harley fender took us a couple of hours to repair, even though the video shows it being completed in just under a minute.
On or Off
Our client brought his motorcycle fender to us. This made for a better result as we were able to work the metal on our stand, from multiple angles.
Hammer Away
What’s with all the hammering? In the video, that’s the first thing you see. The knock down tool. That’s that red device that I am holding in the first frame. Notice that on the tip is a little patch of leather. That is our barrier between the tip of the tool and the beautiful Harley clearcoat. This mitigates the risk of scratching the paint. It is necessary to use the “knockdown technique“ in order to first relieve any pressure around the perimeters of the dent. What I am doing is gently moving subtle waves that were formed around the perimeter of the dent. As well as flattening out high spots created when someone attempted to push the dent out themselves. If you look carefully, you’ll see what appears to be high spots right near the dent. Someone tried to fix this dent, applying some pressure underneath but stopping before they could create irreversible damage. Flattening these high spots is vital before applying pressure from underneath. This makes for a very clean repair as it relaxes tension within the metal.
Motorcycle Dents are Stubborn
Performing paintless dent removal on motorcycle parts like fuel tanks and fenders can be challenging, particularly when it comes to locating the tool tip without causing further damage. In order to restore the metal back to its original shape, gentle pressure is applied underneath the dent. However, due to the thickness and curvature of the part, it can be difficult to identify where the pushes are. Technicians rely on the reflection of the lines on the paint to guide them. Motorcycle metal can be stubborn, which increases the risk of creating irreversible damage if not careful. A repair that has been rushed may result in pointy high spots or even cracked paint.
Did You Remember To Cross-Check?
Another important aspect of Motorcycle PDR (and dent removal in general) is cross-checking. This is where we move the light at different angles to ensure that we've fixed the dent completely. It's important to cross-check because a lot of PDR companies will fix a dent so that it looks good from one angle but looks terrible from another.
At Dent Evo, we take the time to do it right, so your motorcycle looks great from every angle.
It’s What’s Inside That Counts; Scratching
The pushing and moving of metal during dent repair is important, but the inside of the part is also a crucial concern when fixing dents on motorcycle tanks and fenders. Unfortunately, many dent removal service providers overlook this, especially those offering low prices. In the video, you can see that I use cloth tape on the tool tips to create a barrier between the tooltip and the painted inner surface of the fender. This prevents any chance of scoring the E coat on the underside surface. It's easy to scratch the panel up while trying to remove the dent, which is why I use hard plastic (Delrin) tool tips instead of metal. This reduces the chance of the tip wearing through the cloth tape, particularly since heat up to 150° is applied to the dented surface. All these efforts are aimed at preventing any long-term corrosion under the fender or inside of a fuel tank, as rusty fuel tanks are never appreciated by motorcyclists.
A plastic “Delrin” tool tip by Dent Craft Tools. Wrapped with cloth tape, creates a soft push that doesn't scratch the undercoating. Due to the thickness and curvature of fender and tank metal, pushing in the right place is the biggest challenge.
Heat It Up
Yes, we also do use heat. Applying heat does soften the metal a bit. More importantly, heat creates elasticity temporarily within the clear coat. Harley Davidson clear coats and paints can tend to be brittle at lower temperatures. So using heat up to around 150 degrees prevents the paint from cracking. Cracked paint can at worst look like a chip or splintered surface. At the very least, it can create a “milky” appearance within the dent. This is when micro fractures have been created after a technician rushed the repair, and didn’t apply heat. The heat itself does not adversely affect the paint or metal, as long as it is kept within a safe operating temperature.
Your Motorcycle dent Repair Resource
If you're wondering how much it costs to remove a dent from your motorcycle's fender, the price starts at $300 for the first inch and $100 for each additional inch, plus factors like depth, location (on part), and metal type.
At Dent Evo, we specialize in saving the paint on your motorcycle. We know that repainting your motorcycle can decrease its resale value. While the dent itself is just plain unacceptable. That's why we use advanced PDR techniques to remove dents without having to repaint your motorcycle's fender. Our techniques are better than those used by a traditional body shop because we can preserve your motorcycle's original factory paint and condition.
In conclusion, if you're in the Claremont California area and need Paintless Dent Removal on your Harley Davidson motorcycle fender, then Dent Evo has got you covered. We take the time to do it right, using cross-checking and advanced techniques to ensure that your motorcycle looks great from every angle. For more information, please visit our website at https://dentevo.com/motorcycle-dents, and remember, "Slower is Faster."