How to remove old, rusted screws?

[canofwhoopass_87]

I don't do any customising or major refurb works on any vintage figures, but is there a way to actually remove badly rusted screws properly?

Case One - Screw heads are badly corroded. Grooves for screwdriver gone. Are these beyond repair (breaking the figure is not an option)?

Case Two - Screw heads are badly corroded, but grooves are still visible. By the looks of it, if I use a screwdriver to try and get the rusted screw out; the (+) shaped groove will lose shape, turning this into a Case One.

Any tips, advice or knowledge would be awesome

[1orion2many]

I don't know if they make what I'm about to mention small enough but here goes, step 1 drill a small hole into the centre of the screw should be able to get one small enough, Step 2 use an easy out in the hole you have just drilled in the screw(not sure if you can get one small enough) this should bite into the hole in the screw and grip it well enough to unscrew it. If the screw is proud and not recessed then I would carefully cut a line going straight across the screw with a small hack saw creating a new slot for a normal screwdriver but I'm guessing the screws are recessed.

[bruticus]

Gi-joes are notorious for having rusty screws so if you have a search through this yo-joe forum page or similar sites... there are many ways that may be of help to you.

-loosen it with a lubricant
-superglue the head
-carve out a sufficient groove for your screwdriver to fit
-drill through it using hobby size drill bits

i personally like the
-curse and shake your fist in frustration method

but seriously though, the toughest screws that i've ever come across are the ones with a non-rusted thread but fully rusted head....
Hypothetically, it would be really great if i could accelerate the rate of corrosion by means of chemicals (like vinegar or peroxide etc provided its plastic friendly) or just cane it with electrolysis until the remaining part of the screw is soft enough to be easily destroyed.

[canofwhoopass_87]

Thanks for the input. I might give the superglue + groove carving method a go. Though it might not work with G1 figs that have screws in deep hollow sections, rather than sitting right on the surface.