When a screw slot is clogged with paint, it’s very difficult to get a bite on it with your screwdriver. When I’m up against this problem, I chuck a 4d finish nail in my electric drill and excavate the caked-on paint with the point of the nail. When the nail dulls, which doesn’t take long, I touch up the point with a few licks from a file. This method works equally well on Phillips-head or straight-slot screws.
T. D. Culver, Cleveland Heights, OH
