I’m remodeling my rental unit and have decided to paint the existing cabinets. I’ve decided to replace the hinges and pulls with new hardware after I’ve finished painting. The problem is that the screw heads on the existing hardware are buried under 65 years’ worth of sloppy paint jobs. For similar jobs in the past, I’ve used a screwdriver and a hammer to chisel the paint off the screws before running a hacksaw blade along the slot to clean it out.
As the drawing shows, I now use a rotary tool to clean the screw slot. It’s much faster and easier. If there’s no slot, such as with Phillips head screws, the rotary tool can cut one.
John Carroll, Durham, NC
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #249
