Originally Posted by
LBCwanabe
what's the trick to removing it cleanly?
Knock it out from inside. I usually do this last, when I strip a frame. Set the frame on the ground (on something appropriate to the level of care due the frame) with the chainstays under your toes and the head tube in front of you, tap the inside edge of the bottom cup with a punch and hammer. The cup will (eventually) fall out on the ground/floor/carpet/flokati, should not touch the paint. Flip the frame to do the top cup. For a punch you want something round, just a little smaller that the head tube diameter, so you can angle it over to catch the cup edge; I just grab any old bit of round bar or thick-wall tubing that is handy. You want it only a little smaller so it contacts a larger portion of the cup rim edge.
OR
Get a bike shop you trust; look for dirt under the fingernails.