Anyone have first-hand experience with Paintless Dent Removal shops?

Hi all - I have a [non-Kawasaki] tank that is a good candidate for Paintless Dent Removal (PDR). It has some shallow dents but there are no creases and the paint is intact in the dented areas.

Searching for PDR vendors brings up a lot of results. One of them advertises in the VJMC magazine, which I'd like to think is a decent sign but really I have no idea.

Has anyone here used a PDR service? If so, were you happy with the results (and the price)? Pics would be nice, of course. Thanks!

Shops no.  But I was pretty successful with one of those diy kits on an original 76 KX tank.  That was a while ago, Im sure the kits are way better now.  

The kits might be fantastic, but I would rather have someone competent - i.e. not me - operate the tools.

I watched some PDR guys remove hail denting on cars before and it's impressive.  As long as they can get behind the dent with a tool, and they had something to pry against, they were able to remove the dent to near good as new.

It's just a thought, because I have never used one of those services, but you might want to also check some "better" car and motorcycle dealerships in your area to see who they use and if they are happy with the end result.  There are a couple of Harley Dealers and the Chevrolet dealer in my area that only use one specific service, so I guess they must be pretty good.  I would never attempt something like this on my own, as I am not lucky with body work and paint so the service would be the way to go.

Rick H.

wrote:

It's just a thought, because I have never used one of those services, but you might want to also check some "better" car and motorcycle dealerships in your area to see who they use and if they are happy with the end result.  There are a couple of Harley Dealers and the Chevrolet dealer in my area that only use one specific service, so I guess they must be pretty good.  I would never attempt something like this on my own, as I am not lucky with body work and paint so the service would be the way to go.
 

That's a good idea - I hadn't thought about asking at the local bike shop. Most of the car dealerships seem to have their own body shops so I wasn't thinking about that.

When I picked up the '79 KZ400, it had a small dent in the tank and a weird airbrushed paint scheme. I took the tank and side covers to a general auto body place that has a good reputation: they quoted me almost $500 for dent repair and repainting. I know there's overhead associated with doing a small job like that, but 500 on a $1200 bike was a little excessive.

Rick H gave good advice. I was building an AutoZone that was next to a Mazda dealership. Everyday there was a PDR guy working under a craft tent in the lot. 

wrote:

I watched some PDR guys remove hail denting on cars before and it's impressive.  As long as they can get behind the dent with a tool, and they had something to pry against, they were able to remove the dent to near good as new.
 

I hope so. The tank was an absolute bargain and will make a good spare if someone can remove the dents.

It's for a 1981 Yamaha XT250, and the factory used a multi-stage paint process that year (silver base, metallic red topcoat) which would be tricky to replicate.