What are these fasteners and how do I unfasten them?

August 15, 2023 12:52 PM

I am stymied by these fasteners on my trailer's broken reflector. Is there a trick to unfastening them? Can they be reused? What are they called? Please share your insider knowledge if you've got it.
posted by Rhedyn to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like a pop rivet from what I can tell of the picture.

They are not reusable, and the best way to remove them is to drill them out.
posted by advicepig at 1:05 PM on August 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Yup, advicepig has it. I'd call them "large flange" pop rivets, if you need to replace them.
posted by pullayup at 1:16 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

You could also use a dremmel on the back side if you wanted to preserve the reflector and avoid a mis-drill situation. (It looks broken so maybe this doesn't matter, but sometimes it does)
posted by Narrow Harbor at 1:21 PM on August 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: When drilling them out, use a HSS bit that's at least twice as wide as the hole. That seems to work for me. A cheap pop riveter can be found online for around £15. They're pretty easy to use - you just need to make sure you get the right sized rivets for the job - boxes of mixed rivets (different depths and diameters) are also reasonably cheap. Or just replace the rivets with little nuts and bolts if you don't find the idea of owning a pop riveter particularly... riveting.
posted by pipeski at 1:25 PM on August 15, 2023 [5 favorites]

mod question: would adding a "rim shot" gif after pipeski's wonderful comment violate TOS?
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 2:34 PM on August 15, 2023