How do you remove painted, striped screws off old cabinet doors?

Question

I am trying to remove the cabinet doors to my tiny laundry room. It's so closed in and thought if I remove doors it might open it up. Problem is that the hinges were painted over and I can't unscrew them all out. some I have successfully, others not so much. Won't budge. Any ideas for removing stripped screws can be so helpful.

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

Craftsman makes a bit just for this purpose. Just ask one of the tool people and say you have stripped screws.. I would also score with a sharp razor around the painted hinges too.

Mickey · Answer

Score paint around them and put a rubberband on the tip of the screwdriver ,put in screw hole and hopefully it will turn at least pinterest says it will

Zbeth W · Answer

If you break the paint sealed around the screw with a razor blade and then jam a screwdriver in there by wacking it in hard with a hammer.. you can some times work it out enough to remove it.. Good luck!

Christine · Answer

If the screws are in fact stripped there's an easy out screw extractor. They come in different sizes, so if you have one of screws that you took out take it with you. You can usually buy one at Lowe's, Home Depot, hardware stores, and auto parts stores. Good luck I hope this will help!

Anna Ibarra · Answer

Thank you all, I will try going to home place or sears for that tool, thanks Christine on taking screw w/me. I did try using a rubber band to it Mickey, didn't work, maybe rubber band wasn't thick enough. I'll try again.

Diana Sue Mendez-Lucio · Answer

I once pulled it out and filled the hole with caulk,

Diana Sue Mendez-Lucio · Answer

Or spray WD-40 on them.

Louis Lieberman · Answer

try using wd40 or any other penetrating oil. also you might just remove the centre pin from the hinge the door comes right off.

Teresa A · Answer

Try breaking the paint seal around the screw. Make sure to put pressure on the screw driver when trying to turn it, a screw extractor should work or take a Dremal tool or a file and cut a slit across the top of the screw to make a new slot for a flat screw driver.

Anna Ibarra · Answer

I'll give that a try, but the whole thing has been painted shut- more like dripped painted as you can somewhat see on the left hinge. I used a rubberband, hand screw, screwdriver, and prying it off. But I will give that a try. Maybe I can return the other bits I bought to use to unscrew it. Save me some $$

Karen Mortimore · Answer

You need to break the seal from the paint... put the screw driver in the slot and hit the end with a hammer, might need to do it more than once to crack the paint around it. Take the door off and do the same thing to the part attached to the cupboard... takes a little patience.

Karen Mortimore · Answer

* SCREW SLOT

Karen Mortimore · Answer

you might try a Flat headed screw driver instead of a Phillips head

Anna Ibarra · Answer

thank you will do

Sabren · Answer

I know you will love your new laundry room when you get those doors off. I did that in one of my homes and every one loved it. Painted it white and wallpapered the back of the cabinet with red and white stripes. Put baskets with labels. Was much easier to pull a basket down and get to my cleaning stuff. Good luck.

Teresa A · Answer

Anna, You would need a very small file. I had a triangular shaped file about 4 inches long. You could perhaps reach the top of the screw by opening the door and extend the file in the opening between the cabinet door and the hinge. The top of the screw may be more reachable. You may only be able to place the file in and draw it back a couple times to make a channel, not necessarily sawing back and forth with the file due to the constricted space. It doesn't take much, the metal is soft. If you have a Dremal tool with a cutting disc a new slot could be cut across the top of the screw and you could use a straight blade screw driver to back the screw out. Cutting or filing across the screw head won't affect the wood. I have done this with a small triangular file; my son has used a Dremal. I think paint hardens down in the treads making the the Philips head strip out on the top. It is a pain in the neck. Good luck.

Terri Johnson · Answer

Take an utility Knife to cut paint around screw and then using a very small drill bit, drill a hole in the center of the screw. Just enough to make it deeper so you can remove with screwdriver.You will need to put pressure on the screwdriver to get the screw to move.

Amy · Answer

Here are a few tips that have worked for me: 
 
Before doing any method - definitely run a utility knife around the screw heads. Then insert a screwdriver straight into each screw head and tap the end of the handle a couple of times with a hammer to loosen it. (Don't hit too hard, the old paint is effectively adhering the screw to the hinge, so the screws will loosen easier if the 'seal' is broken.)
1 - use a power impact driver if you have or can borrow one. 
 2 - a square drive bit will often work to loosen stripped/rounded Phillips head screws. 
 3 - use a screw extractor bit - ez out, etc. (special bits designed for removing stripped screws). 
 
 Definitely don't try to reuse the screws! Good luck!

Anna Ibarra · Answer

I haven't attempted this yet, I step aside from it for now- making me frustrated and step away for now. But glad I did cause I've gotten some great feedback. I have 16 screws to undo and I want to see which methods work best or yet fastest ;-) . Let you know.

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Use the Dremal tool with a small grinder cutter on it. You can cut a grove and use a regular screw driver to remove the screws. So this carefully or you risk cutting into the hinge. Then use the tip of a very sharp knife to cut into the paint around the head of the screw so it will turn. If you want to use the hinges again, simply place them into a small container of liquid paint remover over night then remove and wash them off with running water under the laundry tub faucet.

Anna Ibarra · Answer

Ok I finally did it and I tried the ole hard work and elbow grease before I use the store bought tools. I wanted to see if I really needed them, since I am a beginner in this kind of thing,etc I wanted to see if a beginner could actually do this compare to some of your experienced talents out there. And I have to report that I did it with your helpful comments. I use a utiltiy knife, couple of other tools, that I don't know what the names are ;-). Yes, it was a bit tough, and it was hard since door were almost against the wall, but I scraped the paint as much as I can, drilled in screw, that didn't help me much, then the good ole hand screw was a bit more control for me, and they came out pretty easy, after scraping off the paint, etc. Many Thanks to you all. Here's my pics

Judy Parkey · Answer

I want to thank you for asking this question. I needed the help!

Barbara Valenti · Answer

For future use, there is a small kit I think at Lowes that will rework any old striped screw from anything. Check it out. May help solve a problem.

CAD girl · Answer

I thank you for asking about this, too. I also have to remove the hinges from some old cabinets that have been painted over numerous times. I tried to use a small Philips head screwdriver, and that didn't work - stripped the head of the screw. So after reading this (and a few other places) I took a narrow flat-head screwdriver, fitted it into the 'x' on the screw head, then tapped it with a hammer, to seat it firmly. I leaned into the screwdriver as hard as I could and voila! It turned and I was able to remove all the screws. It took a little elbow grease, but I didn't need any fancy equipment.

Robin · Answer

Place a thick rubber band on the head of the screw. Then use screwdriver to unscrew.

Howard Mattix · Answer

hank you everyone for the tips, I'm going to put them in practice.and hope for the best.

Anna Ibarra · Answer

All this was a great tips, I did as some of you posted and it work very well. Thank you all as well.

Kristina Ponath-Graham · Answer

Two ways that work great one is a heat gun other is a chemical zep makes for removing wax off of floor I get it at Home Depot I use it to remove paint from a lot of stuff just fill a bowl undiluted drop hinges in and walk away for a few hours or over night depending how much paint is on them then just rinse them off if any is left use a wire brush to get in creases

Susan · Answer

I have had success taking my hack saw and cutting down the center of the screw, thereby making it a flat head screw instead of whatever the original one is. Score around the edge to break the paint seal and unscrew. Good luck !

Cindy · Answer

You can use a dremel with a cutting wheel and cut a straight line across the head of the screw. That will give you a new flat head groove to unscrew it. With a dremel you can cut only the screw, a hack saw is so long you run the risk of cutting the wood around it also.

How do you remove painted, striped screws off old cabinet doors?

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How do you remove painted, striped screws off old cabinet doors?

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