Originally Posted by thenomad

I masked it off and then painted. I was able to scrape the excess off the edges of the thimble just fine and it looked as it should. Funny enough, I also then had to hit the fork with another coat of paint and I just decided to paint over it. Then I took q-tips with nail polish remover and swabbed till it was all gone. Also looks factory.
So having tried two methods I'd say either will be fine.
Looked too thin for me to try and pry out. I really doubt they are an item that is "in stock".