Deluxe door handle pull restoration

[cwalker509]

The captive nut things on my door handle pulls are rather messed up. Can these be removed, "corrected" for fit and reinstalled somehow? I can't find white new door handle pulls in stock anywhere. Since these will get used a lot i would rather not get another color and paint them since they will see wear. I will paint these to improve appearance.

 

[Hemikiller]

The flexible handle was overmolded onto the pre-bent sheetmetal part. You need to fashion some sort of "anvil" to support the 90° bend and to create leverage to straighten the deformed metal and slightly over bend the part. Maybe an old lawnmower blade, thick scraper or even a wide flat blade screwdriver clamped in a vise. Slip the handle over your anvil and carefully work the metal down flat. If the pressed in nut falls out, a J-nut would make a suitable replacement.