by Gretchen Winkler

 

Old and new buttons

Okay, so I am not a car person.  I don’t know all the cool jargon or technical names for the parts and pieces.  I just know that I love my 36-year-old car, which I originally bought when it was brand new.  I keep my stuff.  I am loyal to brands that keep making quality products.  And, well, I love my 1990 Honda Accord EX, which tire shops, like the one at Sam’s Club, have often told me does not exist.  (I have discovered there was a low number of my model imported from Japan.)  They said I don’t know what year my car really is….blah blah blah.  But this article is not about rude people saying stupid things.  What I want to share is my RenFaire Cosplay crafty-inspired repair that will help you save the original button covers on your hubcaps.

 

 

The backside of the buttons, where the aging of the plastic is obvious.

The car came with fancy hubcap-like rims made of aluminum alloy with matching metal buttons that snap over the lug nuts….you know, the heavy screws that hold the tire to your car.  These buttons have metal sheets folded over a plastic framework that snaps over the lug nut hang-out area, making the tires look sleek.  (Side note: Old rims before these were pretty ugly, and the hubcaps were large pieces that covered the circumference of the rim meeting the tire area.)  Well, as the years go by, the new plastic structures covering the nuts start to get brittle.  And every time you remove them to change the tires, stress builds, and sometimes the plastic parts designed to snap tight break apart.  This happened when I was at Les Schwab getting… CV joints repaired.  The guys in the shop were pretty upset when they broke the button.  They appreciated that I owned a well-kept vintage car. 

 

Remove the metal from the new framework

Carefully remove the metal from the old framework.

They spent months trying to find another one in the same state as mine.  My buttons are in super nice shape.  And I am not joking; they searched for several months, so after taking a close look at how the original buttons were made, I realized I could use my skills as a craftsman to fix them.  My husband and I used to make all kinds of props, costume pieces, jewelry, and decorative items to share with friends.  We made tiny swords and daggers made of wire, so I was familiar with using needle-nose pliers and bending soft metal.  The buttons are made of soft metal, probably an aluminum alloy like the rest of the fancy rim.

 

 

Put the original metal cover with H onto the new framework.

Be careful on how you fold the old metal over the new framework.

Notice the dents in the metal from using the pliers instead of using your finger to fold and press the metal back over the plastic edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I told the guys at Les Schwab to order me a set of the new plain ones since the ones with the Honda H were not available.  The plan was to carefully remove the old metal cover and replace it onto the new plastic framework, thus preserving the look of my car’s original design.  I used needle-nose pliers to carefully pull back the folded metal.  You don’t want to be rough with the metal because it will dent or scratch easily.  When re-attaching the metal to the framework, I had better results by folding the metal over the edge of the framework by hand rather than using needle-nose pliers. This can make your fingers sore and will take some time.  But for me, it was worth the effort.

The new framework with the original metal looks great, and it snaps firmly into place without the concern of losing one of these irreplaceable Honda Accord EX buttons with the iconic H on it.

G. Winkler  ©2026