Topic: Remove Tube Nuts from Blind Hole

[drummingrocks]

Is there a good method of removing tube/emblem nuts from a '67 decklid?  I'm stripping my '67 coupe for paint, and I have removed all of the other tube nuts.  The decklid, however, is another story.  Since there's no access to the backside, I wasn't sure how to remove the tube nuts without damaging the holes in the trunk lid.

[CharlesTurner]

Needle-nose pliers.

[67gtasanjose]

Needle-nose pliers.

+1

or ice pick at the seams. Most likely they will not survive but if you work them slowly, it is possible to save some. Flat blade of a knife and careful working around the perimeter too. Some are easier than others.

[drummingrocks]

Thanks, guys.  I don't mind if a few of the tube nuts get ruined, as long as it doesn't hurt the holes in the decklid.

[jwc66k]

Include a thin, stiff blade, as in a Stanley type box cutter, in your removal tool collection. It may come in handy. Also, punch a 1/4 inch hole in a strip of masking, electrical or duct tape and orient the tape's hole over the tube nut. It may come in handy.
Jim

[bazza]

I would try a dremel until the lip was thin enough to use the Stanley blade ... then a pin punch of the correct diameter to drive the remains inwards.
Not sure how you would get the remains out of the framework though .... maybe a magnet to work them towards an opening

[Fastback2013]

sorry, but I am lost here 
It's also a task that I must do in the (near) future, so I ask know in stead off reheating the thread
I know what a needle nose plier and a thin blade is, but how to get started?
That I damage the paint, no worries because it gets a new coat 
But not to break or damage the emblems, that's the target !?
some guidance for how to begin with, would be much appreciated!
kind regards,
Jeroen

[67gtasanjose]

sorry, but I am lost here 
It's also a task that I must do in the (near) future, so I ask know in stead off reheating the thread
I know what a needle nose plier and a thin blade is, but how to get started?
That I damage the paint, no worries because it gets a new coat 
But not to break or damage the emblems, that's the target !?
some guidance for how to begin with, would be much appreciated!
kind regards,
Jeroen

The emblems are simply "Pressed in" by hand, these "tube nuts" were inserted into the appropriate sized hole and "grip" the emblem's "pins". A straight owtward motion is required to remove an emblem, following the emblem being out of the way, the directions so far to this point come into play. ASSUMING A REPAINT IS THE PLAN, you would use these instructions (in above threads) to accomplish the removal of the tube nuts. As Jim pointed out, there are ways to help prevent paint damage on a car that isn't destined for a repaint. In those examples, the "hole in the tape" play as a helpful guide. Using a sharp knife, you would be trying to get hold of the rolled edge that prevents the tube nut from fully going into the panel the emblem is mounted on. The idea to use a dremel, I've never tried but I suppose if everything else failed, it could be considered. Personally, I've always got them with a pocket knife, pulled out a little then grabbed them with the pliers or the likes. You could pretty much remove about 40 of these things in the time it took for me to write this out. Seems like we're making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Fastback2013]

Thanks a lot, Richard!
I am sorry for writing you down such a text/explanation, but I do appreciate it a lot!
I can only speak for myself,  but it isn't a 'gift' living by the 'constant pressure' of screwing things up
Better ask twice, cut once? 
Never the less, much appreciated that you took the time for answering my question!
I will give it a chance in the near future!
kind regards,
Jeroen

[67gtasanjose]

...Never the less, much appreciated that you took the time for answering my question!
I will give it a chance in the near future!
kind regards,
Jeroen

No trouble, not an issue at all! Just trying to emphasis how basically simple it is to do these! Like anything in any trade...Once you figured out "how", it seems like: "WOW! That was easy!". I am sure you will get it easily figured out too.

To help others with REMOVAL of the emblems ON PAINTED CARS WITHOUT DAMAGING PAINT, there was a discussion quite a while back, I think it was Jim who also suggested threading something behind the emblems to get old of them without using any sharp tool (preventing scratches) I'll let that person explain  if they have read along this far

[midlife]

No trouble, not an issue at all! Just trying to emphasis how basically simple it is to do these! Like anything in any trade...Once you figured out "how", it seems like: "WOW! That was easy!". I am sure you will get it easily figured out too.

To help others with REMOVAL of the emblems ON PAINTED CARS WITHOUT DAMAGING PAINT, there was a discussion quite a while back, I think it was Jim who also suggested threading something behind the emblems to get old of them without using any sharp tool (preventing scratches) I'll let that person explain  if they have read along this far

That was me, I believe.  I recommend using dental floss to grab the backside of the emblem and pulling forward.

I wonder if it is possible to thread dental floss under the rim of the rube nuts, circling around, and then pulling...

[jwc66k]

I stopped by a local Mustang shop on my trek to the outside world today and saw one of the guy's car, a 66 Hardtop. It was a work in process, with a primed hood, no letters, no tube nuts. I brought up the questions raised about tube nut removal and he said just run an 1/8 inch drill bit thru the hole to remove the tube nuts. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
Jim

[drummingrocks]

I stopped by a local Mustang shop on my trek to the outside world today and saw one of the guy's car, a 66 Hardtop. It was a work in process, with a primed hood, no letters, no tube nuts. I brought up the questions raised about tube nut removal and he said just run an 1/8 inch drill bit thru the hole to remove the tube nuts. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
Jim

I had thought about using a drill bit, too.  Thanks, guys--I've got some options now.  I don't think these will be a problem moving forward.

[ruppstang]

I too just run a 1/8 bit through them but often they just fall out when the sheet metal is sanded grinding off the top portion of the tub nut.