Centre Dot Fasteners

Not really a how-to, more a rant on the mis-use of these fasteners!

I have had my Jimny for 10 years so it was owned by others for 4-5 years before that. Up to now I have been giving it a hard time off-roading it so I have not been too concerned about the finer details of how it looked. However...

I am now looking to bring it back to a proper state and one thing I am finding everywhere are butchered or missing trim fasteners. The most common ones that are damaged or missing are what I call centre-dot fasteners. I suspect that in the past they were simply forced out and broken/lost. I suppose this is fairly common across Jimnys as it seems as if some people are unaware of how they work.

These fasteners have a centre pin that protrudes when the fastener is not installed, see the picture below.

Typically, the first thing you want to do is remove the old fastener, the picture below shows one in place and you can see the "dot" flush with the top of the fastener. 

Now, to remove this you do not try and prise the button up or prise the whole fastener out. Instead you use a fine point device to push the little centre button IN, it will click inwards with mild pressure. Here you can see me doing it with a fine bladed screw driver.

When you have done this the whole fastener will easily lift out.

Putting it back in is just as simple. If you are re-using the old  fastener you need to "reset" it by pushing the centre pin back through so it protrudes out the top, like it does in a new fastener.

Now put the reset fastener in place and when ready simply press the protrubing pin into place, job done (and rant over!)