How to remove the stuck faucet/tap cover?

[Terry52]

I've been fixing leaking faucets in a bathroom. There are total six faucets in a bathroom, two made into a bathroom basin, two made into the wall in the shower tube and the last two are on the wall on top of the mop sink.

I have fixed the basins' faucets leaks but was unable to do fix the other four faucets because have failed to remove the faucet covers (see the attached photos).

They seems to be stuck. To get a better grip I wrapped some duct tape around the chrome covers and then used
the spanner - but to no avail. Tried the strap wrench - no luck too.

I thought it could be the silifon sealant that glued the covers to the wall - but after I have removed most of the sealant
(used the sealant remover to soften the sealant and then putty knife) it has not not changed the situation at all as the cover is still stubbornly refuses to any unscrew attempts.

Any ideas how can I get these covers off? Can you recomend some special tools, I was thinking about a type of a pipe wrench for cone shaped pipe (as the cover is shaped as a cone)?

Would really appreciate any help!
Thank you for your time.

[HayZee518]

pry out the center bezel, there's a screw underneath

[CharlieO]

As HayZee said pry out the center bezel which is the white piece in the center of the handle… that read Hot and cold, underneath there you will find a screw, unscrew that screw and then take to handle off, you may need to put a little WD-40 on it and work to handle back and forth to get it off.
Then look underneath the escutcheon which is the cone shaped part, see if there's a set screw on the bottom of it, if not spray some WD-40 between the stem and the escutcheon, spray as much and as you can, let it sit for about 20 min., then try your strap wrench on it to try and turn the escutcheon

[Redwood]

You may need a handle puller.

Careful rocking the handle to try to loosen it if you try too hard the stem can be damaged.

Once you get the handle off you will need more information on what you need to do. At a minimum you will need a new washer and grinding down the seat a little bit. Replacing the seat is the better option.

Read at this link for additional information on what you need to do and the specialty tools you will need.

How To Replace Faucet Washers

I wrote that after explaining how to do it 100's of times on forums.
Once you read that if you have any additional questions I'd be happy to answer them here.

[Terry52]

You may need a handle puller.

I managed to remove the handle, but the cover is still the problem.
It just does not come off. I have six exactly the same faucets in a bathroom,
and was able to take apart two, but stuck with the other four.

Attached are the photos of the faucet (the others are exactly the same) I was able to take apart.

As I can see there are the threads inside, so I have to unscrew the cover, but it is just does not move. What I think is happened is that the metal threads inside the cover bonded with a stem and this is why it does not move.

Any ideas how can I loosen that bond?

Careful rocking the handle to try to loosen it if you try too hard the stem can be damaged.

Once you get the handle off you will need more information on what you need to do. At a minimum you will need a new washer and grinding down the seat a little bit. Replacing the seat is the better option.

I would a try re-seating first (this is how I fixed the other two faucets) - hopefully it would fix the leaks.

Read at this link for additional information on what you need to do and the specialty tools you will need.

**How To Replace Faucet Washers

I wrote that after explaining how to do it 100's of times on forums.
Once you read that if you have any additional questions I'd be happy to answer them here.

Thank you Redwood!

[Terry52]

As HayZee said pry out the center bezel which is the white piece in the center of the handle… that read Hot and cold, underneath there you will find a screw, unscrew that screw and then take to handle off, you may need to put a little WD-40 on it and work to handle back and forth to get it off.

I got the handle off, but stuck with a cover which I believe is caused by the bond between threads inside of the cover and the stem (please see the photos in my reply to Redwood - I don't have enough posts to use the links to other site and would not want to overload this site file storage with uploading the same photos twice).

Then look underneath the escutcheon which is the cone shaped part, see if there's a set screw on the bottom of it, if not spray some WD-40 between the stem and the escutcheon, spray as much and as you can, let it sit for about 20 min., then try your strap wrench on it to try and turn the escutcheon

I tried the spraying WD-40 (between the stem and the escutcheon) yesterday (not sure if I had waited for 20 mins though - I probably started turning the escutcheon straight after wd-40) , but haven't been able to get a good grip with a strap wrench ... Thinking about getting a good pipe wrench on a weekend - reckon it will give me a better grip on to faucet cover (the escutcheon).

Thank you Charlie!

[CharlieO]

Glad to see you got the handles off.
The next thing I would do is continue spaying it with WD40,
also take a razor knife and run it between the escutcheon and the wall. someone may have chaulked the gap and the smallest amount of chaulk could make it difficult to remove.
You can use a pipe wrench but you might damage the escutcheon.

[Redwood]

It looks like you broke the screw off in the stem when you removed the handle.

Try penetrating oil for the cover threads not WD-40
I like PB Blaster myself...

[Terry52]

Forgot the post the results here...

I had managed to remove the tap cover.

CharlieO was right - someone put A LOT of caulking inside of cover and it was holding the whole thing very tightly.

After I ran the razor knife between the cover and the wall - I poured some solvent into between the cover and the wall, then

I got the pipe wrench, wrapped the chromed cover with a dozen of duct tape wraps and after a several attempts I was able to shift it a little and eventually removed it completely ... Even with a duct tap cover I had damaged the chrome plating in a few places (can see the little brass streaks on it) - but the job was done.

After that I have replaced the o-rings (which seemed to be worn a little), the tap washer (it looked ok, but I decided to replace it anyway), then done the re-seating. Then put everything together, and sealed it with a plumber putty (not with a bloody silicon caulking) - and the result is - no more leaks.

Guys, thanks for your help - you are the great community. Proud to be a part of it.