Aloha!  

A few years ago I purchased a wide angle lens 17-35 that I just had to have.  Like all my lens, I put a UV filter on it in the store to protect the actual lens from scratches.  Because this is somewhat a specialty lens it doesn't get the work out my other preferred lens get.  Most of the time it stays in the bag and comes along for the ride.

About a year after owning it, I realised when I tried to get the UV filter off that it was pretty much welded on there.  No amount of pressure could release the filter, and believe me I grunted and and tried to man handle the dang thing off on more than one occasion.  It's been 3 yrs. since I've owned it and it's been a thorn in my side trying to get it off.   Just before I was going to order a couple of filter wrenches online I thought I would approach this problem scientifically.

Bear with me now as this is not the most ingenious way to get a severely stuck filter off, but it worked beautifully for me and came off immediately after.  And it cost me nothing but time to do.

First off I filled a small shallow dish with hot water. I wouldn't recommend boiling water, just hot enough out of the tap worked for me.  Any container will work here as long as it will support the lens, and can hold a shallow bit of water.  
Next I put the lens with the stuck filter into a zip lock bag.  You can see ti coming can't ya?  I sealed the bag tightly and and laid the lens in the bag face down into the shallow hot water with the filter facing down.  The water just has to cover the lens filter, not the whole lens.
After one minute or so I removed the lens from the bag and let it sit for a minute or so.  I then took and old rubber mouse pad and laid it down on a flat surface. A small rubber jar lid remover pad will work also.  Gripping the lens firmly around the base of the lens I proceeded to turn the lens letting the mouse pad grip the the filter end.  With just a slight bit of pressure I was able to free the filter with minimal effort the first try.  The heat from the water made the lens filter expand releasing it's grip on the filter.

A very happy dance ensued!  This is probably a last ditch effort to get one of these welded on filters to come off and I'm sure there are many other ways to do this.....This one worked for me!!

Jus' thought I 'd share this happy moment....

Aloha~

Another way would be to wrap the filer with a wide, heavy rubber
band -- I have some Plymouth brand, size 64 that I think would have
worked for your problem. 

--
Martin

I did try that method....Still couldn't get a decent grip on the filter...

I got a Schneider pola filter on the 10-20 which must be very thin due to the wide-angle.
Not only it's very difficult to remove (I have to try and get my nails into the sawtooth at the side) but what's worse, due to the extreme angle the pola shows a gradual effect which is bad in skies.
So I'm very reluctant to use it anymore. Lesson learnt, and price paid.

Thanks for the trick. It's extreme, but if it works...

Lol good tip Dave !! Better than using ice on the camera lol!

Good stuff Dave, thanks for sharing. ::adds to pile of how-to notes::

Thanks for the tip, Dave. I'm making a note of it now...

LOL at the very happy dance that ensued... :^D

I remember this came up in the forum a few years ago. If I am correct, Andreas mentioned a similar problem, and he solved it by using a dental dam that he got at his dentist's office. I guess it works like a rubber jar opener. Anyway, I just thought I'd pass that bit of info on to ya'll...