Removing oil seal on engine front cover

I have just had this blasted, and thought I would remove the oil seal before I put some engine paint on it.

But I am having trouble removing the oil seal.

Being old the rubber has lost all strength and just comes off in small bits.

I believe that the external cover to the oil seal is normally held on with screws, but mine appears to have some rivets, which I would prefer to avoid drilling out. If I could have removed the cover, I am sure I could press the remains of the seal out. But i can't.

My question relates to what constitutes the oil seal.

You can just about make out on the first photo that there is some shiny metal under the rubber. Is that part of the seal or is that part of the cover?

If it part of the seal, I think I need to get a Dremel on it to try and carefully cut the metal so I can try and prise it out.

If it is part of the cover, then I need to carefully pick out all the rubber.

From what i can tell, modern seals are just composed of rubber, but i think i have come across older seals that had a metal ring on the outside. Hence my uncertainty.

When new rivets is what held seal in place, drilled out and replaced with screws when change needed. Purchase a new seal to see what it looks like.

As tottot says that’s original so seal prob not been changed before so normally if it’s on the engine that’s the only way to do it , but you have access to inside so just need to lever it out from inside , a dremel cutting through the thin outer metal bit will help but give it a go with a flat screwdriver first

Then just ensure new seal does in right way to correct position, replaced mine recently with engine dismantled without removing that outer dust seal