I have chips of the coating coming off of my 2009 Senta's...would like to soda blast and powder coat but would like to remove all of the 12 point screws first. A magnet does not stick to them so they must be alloy...hoping not plastic. Has anyone had actual experience removing all of them from a wheel without head breakage or other damage? I have seen other posts where they have been masked off but Id prefer to remove and polish if they are not a nightmare. THANK YOU

 

I had one of my Senta's resprayed when I first got my car and made sure that they would take the bolts out before doing the job. I am not aware that they had any issues.

I bought the correct tool to remove the bolts when I was trying to get a Sepang wheel fixed on my old XJ. Those wheels do actually split in two and took a bit of muscle to get the bolts moving but on the Senta's the bolts are just cosmetic. I think they have thread lock on them to help keep them in place.

 

much appreciated!

 

The technician that refurbished my wheels used, for each bolt, a a piece of masking tape.

(1) He ripped off a piece about three inches long.
(2) He rolled the tape into a tube that had a diameter just right for slipping it over the bolt, all the way down to the base.
(3) He finally pinched together the excess amount above the head of the bolt.
(4) When he was done, I inspected the finish on the bolts and it was flawless.
(5) It took him about 5 minutes per wheel to accomplish this.

 

You will need a 12 point spline set that includes size M8. Or just buy a M8 if you can find just the one, but the whole set in nice plastic box is only $14.00 shipped to your door.
Here's one off Ebay:
11 PC 12 Point Spline Bit Set M5 M6 M8 M10 M12 | eBay

You will need a impact gun to take them off and to put them back on. Very tight, but they will not break. I did manage to strip one of them tho but that's just me and my mechanical skills.
Hope this helps!

 

THANKS HAWAII!! good advice. Tahoe I hear you, I was just hoping to remove so i could polish them on a buffing wheel for contrast. I appreciate the info gentlemen