# What's the best way to remove side-caps from a Duncan Butterfly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance\ **Created:** [March 18, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-remove-side-caps-from-a-duncan-butterfly/64722 "2014-03-18T19:13:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThatGuyWhoMakesThose](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/thatguywhomakesthose/32/1512_2.png) [@ThatGuyWhoMakesThose](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/ThatGuyWhoMakesThose)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-remove-side-caps-from-a-duncan-butterfly/64722/1 "2014-03-18T19:13:56Z")
I want to remove the side-caps from my Butterflies so I can paint the inside of them. What’s the best way to go about doing this? The first thing I tried was to stick a knife in them and pry it off [(like this kid)](http://youtu.be/nIaMAB8RYyQ) but that only resulted in a bunch of mangled side-caps (and some broken knives!) I then tried pulling the two halves apart and sticking a small paintbrush through the hole to pop out the sides–which worked great, until I realized that the axle is apparently Hercules-glued into the blank side of the Butterfly. I spent ten minutes trying to yank it out with pliers, but to no avail. Does anyone know a way to get these side-caps out without damaging them? Any help would be greatly appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![GregP](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/gregp/32/1192_2.png) [@GregP](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/GregP)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-remove-side-caps-from-a-duncan-butterfly/64722/2 "2014-03-18T20:00:50Z")
I cannot possibly say this is “the best” method… I did the “poke through” like you described, and indeed it was a Herculean task to get the axle out of both halves. Man. That was some work. But I eventually got it! I had a suspicion I’d want to get back at the halves because I might not like the silicone caulking I had dumped in, so I drilled a small hole directly opposite the other almost-hole that is an artifact of the moulding process. Yes, there’s a hole in my caps now. But I can screw in a small screw, grab that screw with pliers, and pry off the caps. I’ve seen industrial-strength suction cups that are used for dents on cars. Maybe that would work. ---
**Author:** ![jhb8426](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/jhb8426/32/631_2.png) [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-remove-side-caps-from-a-duncan-butterfly/64722/3 "2014-03-18T20:08:54Z")
I haven’t bought a butterfly in about 8 years, but the last one I bought I was able to remove the caps fairly easily with a knife. The axle came out of both sides relatively easily as well. But they may have changed the manufacturing process in the interim. ---
**Author:** ![ThatGuyWhoMakesThose](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/thatguywhomakesthose/32/1512_2.png) [@ThatGuyWhoMakesThose](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/ThatGuyWhoMakesThose)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-remove-side-caps-from-a-duncan-butterfly/64722/4 "2014-03-21T03:04:46Z")
I don’t really want to drill holes in my yo-yos and the smallest car dent suction cup I could find was 12cm. The side-caps are about 4cm. Any other ideas?