Ideas for digging out corroded screw?

[Sazeus]

So my Victor RC-550 has some battery compartment corrosion and when going to open it up today I realised that one of the screws in the battery compartment is very rusted out and def won't screw out as normal. Anyone got ideas about how to dig this baby out? I need to put my new strap on.

 

[mmcodomino]

I'd carefully use a drill

 

[floyd]

you also try slowly chipping away at the rust and cleaning the head of the screw to get as much crud out as you can, might even try a smaller screwdriver .

 

[tshorba]

You can get screw extractors, they are easy to use. Aldi had some recently as a 5 pack or $2 shops have them. If you want a good one hardware stores sell them as single or pack units. I picked one up from miter 10, it was around $6

If you use a drill bit be careful and use a drill bit smaller than the head of the screw itself. In the past I have used a drill bit to drive through the head of the screw, separating it from the screws shaft

 

[skippy1969]

You might want to try some naval jelly.
It eats rust......

 

[BoomboxLover48]

After using drops of rust dissolvers like vinegar, citric acid solution or lime juice try this tool from Sears. WD 40 drops also penetrate and loosen it.
Sears recently came out with a nifty tool that looks like a screwdriver and it "bites" into the damaged screw head to where you can back it out. This is made by Alden Corp.
http://www.aldn.com

 

[LJV]

Nothing penetrates that good and eats up rust like diesel. The only problem is that you have to give it quite some time. Several days, or even better couple of weeks, put a drop of diesel each day with a cotton stick. Make sure to put something below to absorb what drains trough.

For the objects that can be dipped in: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm

 

[Ken]

Left handed drill bit. After soaking & tapping on the screw in penetrant ( wd-40, etc.) drll and back screw out. Bits are cheap. $2.50 apiece at Sears, or a whole set for $12.00.

Used this trick on a tranny mounting bolt once. If the threads are in good shape, it could come out undamaged. LOW TORQUE setting to begin for this job, then adust as needed slowly. Might help to have a second person hold the box so it doesn't move when the bit bites.

I would try non-destructive methods like this on my Victor first.

Just sayin'.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Nothing penetrates that good and eats up rust like diesel. The only problem is that you have to give it quite some time. Several days, or even better couple of weeks, put a drop of diesel each day with a cotton stick. Make sure to put something below to absorb what drains trough.

For the objects that can be dipped in: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm

diesel and wd40 will eat into the plastic.

vinegar, citric acid solution or lime juice might be a better choice, but I would test it on an inside surface first.

After that, it should crack loose.

Sears recently came out with a nifty tool that looks like a screwdriver and it "bites" into the damaged screw head to where you can back it out. This is made by Alden Corp.
http://www.aldn.com

This is a very good idea too!

 

[Ken]

...forgot about the effect of wd-40 on plastic, Chris...thanks for that. I automatically use it when I break a screw loose. That or penatrating oil, which would probably cause the same problems.

Guess I'm the one with a screw loooooooooose.