Removing Earstems From Bottle Rocket

[NiGHTSx2]

Does anyone know how to remove the earstems from a Bottle Rocket? I'm trying to get the stems off so I can do a respray over the boring polished black frame I got from the Vault. I've removed stems from all sorts of other frames without issue, but the normal twist-and-pop method isn't working. I know o-matter can take quite a bit of punishment, but it feels like I will snap earstem "bumps" if I try to muscle it much more.

The only abnormality I can see is on the bottom of the frame (where the little hole is for the earstem hinge) there appears to be a weird clear/whitish piece of plastic inside the hole. Usually there are just the little bumps on the earstem, but it looks like the clear piece is a cap on top of the bumps or something. I highly doubt it, but could there be a screw under there or something? Am I just being a wimp? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[dr.chop]

then they are like the radars and radarlock...no removing...it is a pin that the head snaps off once in place

 

[NiGHTSx2]

Well that's certainly annoying...but thanks for the info anyway Doc! Any advice for painting around non-removable earstems?

I'm thinking of folding the earstems in about 1/3 of the way, so the parts covered by the ear socks overlap. I should be able to get spray coverage around the hinges, and still have enough space to get the airbrush into the inner portions of the frame. My main concern is that the paint around the hinges will stick the stems and the frame together (and subsequently chip or peel when I break the bond). I can already tell this is going to be a challenge.

 

[dr.chop]

lol, welcome to custom painting shades...Gluing the stems sucks, cuz when you go to "pop" em, you break the paint...avoid the hinge if you can.

 

[NiGHTSx2]

I sprayed out the frame yesterday, and by some miracle, everything turned out well! I turned the air pressure way down and used extreme caution when spraying around the hinge area. I wanted to keep the finish as thin as possible, so I layed on some Bulldog and then went over with purple pearl powder mixed into clear coat.

 

[NiGHTSx2]

...and the finished product!

[url=http://postimg.org/image/zchs2yw9r/full/]

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[Oakley-G37]

Nice job on the color choice. Is that lens the deep blue polarized, or just bip?

 

[NiGHTSx2]

Thanks! Purple Pearl is one of my go-to colors for frames. It looks good paired with almost any color lens. This one is Deep Blue Polarized. You can see the lens color a bit in the indoor pic, but it looks much better in person. I know the outdoor pic makes the lenses look like crap, but I only spent about 30 seconds snapping the pix

 

[dr.chop]

Nice..purple is underrated for sure