Removing hubcaps without scratching wheels

Post by **MilitantGraham** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:09 pm

Hello everyone, I'm new here.
My girlfriend, Helen, has got a 1961 two door and it's my job to keep it roadworthy.
This weekend I painted a spare set of wheels and then had the good tyres swapped over from the old rusty wheels onto the newly painted ones.
As the old rims were pretty tatty anyway I was never too careful about removing the hubcaps, I would just poke a screwdriver in the gap and twist.
Now I have got them looking smart I want to keep them that way. I only brush painted them with synthetic paint so it is not as tough as stove enamelling or powder coating.
Is there some sort of tool for damage free hub cap removal ?
I find levering against the tyre doesn't give enough leverage. What it needs is some sort of hook over the edge of the hub cap, like a sort of giant bottle opener, or a sort of rubber backed crow bar to lever against the wheel. How do other people manage ?
Sorry if this sounds a bit daft for a first question, but I'm into military vehicles myself where everything is painted NATO green with a 2" brush.

Graham

Post by **Chris Morley** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:04 am

See the thread 'hubcap release tool' in the useful tips section. It seems every minor had a built in tool when new.

Personally I always use a claw hammer. If you're careful you can put all the leverage onto the tyre, without scraping the rim.

Post by **s.richardson** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:56 am

i use claw hammer with some tape wrapped round top of it where it touchs wheel,or i did before i got my carlos fandango alloys,steve

Post by **57traveller** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:06 am

Not going to get too involved with this one or post any pics.

However I use a suitably sized piece of wood which just fits inside the wheel outer rim and acts a s a fulcrum for whatever is being used to prise off the hubcap. This might be claw hammer, small pry bar or even the original tool.

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:29 am

hi militant. as chris says find the post, its good. if you cant spot the post in the list, then the tool is the black thing holding your spare wheel in. it should be there, they dont usally get lost.

Post by **MilitantGraham** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:52 pm

Thanks for that, I will try the spare wheel clamp tomorrow. Maybe I could glue a bit of old inner tube on the back of it where it levers against the wheel.

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 12:01 am

it wont touch the paint

Post by **Scott** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 7:22 am

Wise move, 57

.