Technical How do you remove baby moon caps?

I have got 7.5" baby moon caps on smoothie steel wheels. How the hell do you get them off without chipping the paint on the wheel. There is no gap between the cap and the wheel to get a prybar in and its even slightly recessed so there is no lip to get hold of.

Only other options are some kind of suction cup or strong magnets.

Anyone else got ant tricks?

 

Plumber's friend ...

 

google hub cap tool
lots of versions available

 

I've had good luck with plastic trim tools like above

 

Don't have picture of it but I use a plastic drywall mud spreader. They come in all width sizes so I use a narrow one with a handle.

 

Hubcap bar (older than I am) with duct tape on it.
Those plastic trim tools from HF are handy for alot of things though and should work.

This isn't the one I mentioned above but I have used this style in every shop I ever worked in and some padding in the right spots will help keep from scratching the wheel. Just don't use it to install the baby moon.

 

Tried everything, apart from the plastic trim tool. The problem is the way they fit the wheel. No gap and nothing to get hold of so conventional hab cap tools dont work.

 

i've used those cheap plastic kitchen cake frosting spreaders, slips behind the hubcap, protects the painted surface and then can pry off with a screwdriver. or i've used bondo spreaders the same way.

 

Cheap, easy, and what’s not to like.
As they crack/chip, I just shave em down.

 

exactly these. They take some wiggling but work great.

 

I use the ones above, it usually takes at least two at different locations.

 

For the tightest ones these glass tools work great, even better when the edge is sharpened.

 

I was parked next to a little roadster at a car show last summer and while I was kicked back in my chair, working on my tan and a bottle of grandpas special coke (as we like to call it), I noticed the 10" wide, deep reversed, painted steel wheels with baby moons. I asked him how the hell he gets those off and he showed me a plastic tool that he made sort of like the 3rd one from the left.

 

Same as above.
This...with a couple of raps with this.....using the 90 degree end.

 

Thats great.. thanks guys some stuff to try out.

 

I took a flat blade screwdriver, heated the tip and bent it at a 90

 

Plastic tool shown and tap with hammer--works great

 

Use the plastic tools suggested and try different spots around the hub cap until you find a place you can get the thin part started. Do not try to hammer the tool into a space it doesn't want to go or you m will be buying another hub cap. Ask me how I know.

 

Try a Cresent wrench.

 

sheet metal screw and a slide hammer?

 

Find a road with a railroad crossing and hit at high speed, pretty much guaranteed at least three come off

You are very welcome ... as for all this "non marring polyurethane coated surgical tooling" .... that AIN'T old school my friend

 

The station I worked (so many years ago) had a very similar tool.
Worked great.

 

Drive by my house real fast a couple times. Lay on the horn when you do and I'll come out and pick 'em up for you.

 

THEN, put them back on without denting them, I had different sets years ago, Off pretty easy IMO, On, very carefully.

 

Drill a hole through the wheel and punch it off from the back side. Probably have to drill the brake drum and backing plate to get through to the wheel.
After you break about 10 drill bits just get some dynamite. It works every time!

Just BSing you. Hope you get them off before you have a blowout on the side of the road.

 

Some of the old caps (VW for sure) had a small hole at the edge where it contacts the wheel. You put a hook into that hole and pulled them off. I drilled the edge on my 40 ford caps and that’s how I remove them. No prying, no damage, no issues. You can’t really see the hole when on the rim.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-55-045-Wonder-Bar-Pry-Bar/16913718
I used one of these along with a rag and never had a problem.

Gary

 

I was gonna say drill a small hole on the edge and put compressed air behind it. Oughta pop right off.

 

I did the same thing 327Eric did. The only difference is I ground the tip really thin on my grinder first. My wheels are chrome, so I put some tape near the end to prevent scratches. It worked for me. I used a small rubber mallet to force it under the hubcap.

 

Awesome... did just that, popped right off. No paint damage. Thanks guys.