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Painted screws

R

rwayne

Well Known Member
What is the best way to remove painted screws without destroying a paint job? I have to remove my fuel tank. Don't ask.
 
I've always just used a sharp scribe. Takes a few dozen to get the hang of it, but it's the fastest and most effective method I've found.
 
I bought the cutter from ACS and found out it typically removed more paint than if I just took out the screw with no prep. Inspect the screws and see what type of paint buildup you have. If thin, just remove the screw. If the particular screw seems to have a heavier buildup, then use the cutter first. Start with screws on the bottom so it's not visible. I removed my tank and put new stainless (unpainted) screws back and you can't tell it was ever done. I used the cutter on maybe 1 screw out of 20.
 
One approach

When I had our Archer painted by Jim Hattfield at Chino many years ago he took out all of the service removable screws and punched them into cardboard to cover the threads and painted the heads separately as part of the process of painting the whole airplane. He reinstalled them after painting was completed and cured. On the RV-6A I bought a hundred extra #8 screws (NOT stainless steel) from Aircraft Spruce and painted them the same way. Gray's Aircraft Refinishing in Ozark Arkansas painted our RV-6A and I assume he did something similar because I have had no problems with removing inspection panels etc. BUT, in hundreds (thousands?) of screw removals and reinstallations some screw heads get burred (bird head screws) and they eventually get so ugly or difficult to get a grip on with the screwdriver that they have to be replaced. When that happens I go to my "I Can't Believe it not Butter" tub labelled "Blue #8 screws" and install a new one.

Bob Axsom
 
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