I’d be concerned that turning them would put stress on the rivet and internal connection. That hasn’t been an issue for you?

Hasn’t come up yet in a handful of tries over the years. The clamping force in the ones I was working with was insufficient to turn the rivet when the lead was rotated so I don’t suspect damage. The potted/sealed caps wouldn’t tolerate this at all, nor would any given particularly well riveted model. I totally understand not wanting to get weird with expensive parts. The one’s I was working with were only a few USD. Image

I figured I’d dig through the junk pile and see if I could demonstrate. On the left is an Elna CE-W series 470μF 200WV, Ø30mmx50mm I had lying around, probably from the late 80s/early 90s. These are likely from an old switching supply, back when they made them specifically for US 120V mains. Just included it for fun as I wasn’t sure I still had one around.

The one on the right is an unbranded 1200μF 200WV Ø30mmDx35mm with a 2011 datecode. I used the pliers in the background to give one of the leads a 90deg turn. It’s dodgy with such thin leads as these, but it can be done. Solder tie lugs are much better as they have a flat square lead shape that’s less likely to tear off. So definitely possible, but definitely dodgy.

Restuff the caps? Has anybody ever called you a cowboy?

I don’t always have the best ideas, but I do tend to have a lot of them. :)

I try to cast a wide net cause it’s not always obvious what priorities folks have in their repairs. I doubt anyone would care about the aesthetics, for sure, but you would get to do all your arts and crafts work without involving the board itself, which could make some folks nervous.

Time to play with some selastic!

If you have time for the shipping you can get some Kafuter K-704N from aliexpress et. al. pretty cheap. It’s exactly the white selastic used for electronic holddown. Also the datasheet for whichever capacitor you order should have details for the recommended board footprint and drill size so you can be sure things will line up.

Glad to help :)