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Last summer, I dropped my helmet while removing it at a fuel station. It landed on my tank, and left a pretty noticable dent, about the size of the bottom of a regular coffee cup. Luckily, paint was not damaged.
Last week, I decided to try to get the dent out, and after some research, went and bought some dry ice. Using my heat gun, I carefully and slowly, heated the area to the point I could not touch it, being very careful to not burn the paint. I then quickly placed a block of Dry Ice wrapped in a Microfiber towl and rubbed it around the area till it got cold. I repeated this procedure 6-8 times, and it actually worked pretty well. Dent is still there...but much smaller and less noticable. 3 friends have looked at it, and all had a hard time finding the dent. It is now something that I can live with, and find it difficult to see unless the light hits it just perfectly.
I know many that have used a paintless dent repair service on their bikes with perfect results. As long as the paint isn't broken it can usually always be restored. I have used them on my car with perfect results also. Trick is to make sure they have the references and credentials. Like anything, there are good guys and bad guys out there.
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