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.