My front fender has a scratch/gouge at the front, approx 1 inch long x 0.5 inch wide. I dropped it off at a local reputable body shop and they quoted me $252 to touch up and fix the scratch. This seems like a lot!

The guy told me a new painted fender would cost $650, the paint and clearcoat alone would cost $100. The other $152 is for 3hours labor. One question: Is this a fair and reasonable price for a small touchup job (albeit professionally done)? I'm hesitant to do it myself given I have no painting experience and may mess it up even worse, putting me down $ and back to square one.

 

If you want perfection, pay to have it done. I would definately shop around though. That seems a bit overpriced.
another option would be to buy the touch up paint from HD, and fill in the scratch yourself. At least that would cover it up enough that it may not bother you as much. I think Color match touch up paint from the dealer is about $20.

 

A good paint job to match existing Harley paint will cost you some dough. I threw a heartland ez200 on my bike, along with a new front fender. Had to get the front, read and rock gaurd painted to match the bike. about $700 for it. Paint is perfect though, so im happy. A lot of work goes into a good paint job

 

$50.00 an hour is more than reasonable. As far as materials are concerned the sky is the limit. In the paint world you definitely get what you pay for. He could mix the color in his shop but more than likely he will buy a quart of color. Depending on your color some are very expensive anymore. Stop by a paint supplier and check for yourself .. I think the price of the paint will really surprise you. $250.00 for a repair and paint work dosen't sound out of line to me ... and chances are onlookers will not be able to tell it's been repaired once he's done.

 

many thanks, friends. i'll go with it. all i've had were sportbikes before where you could simply buy a new fairing. heck, you can buy a brand new front fender, painted from the manufacturer, for <$100.

not sure why HD doesn't get into the body business; keep stock painted parts in a warehouse for past models.

 

remember,you get what you pay for....most of the time.