DIY: Dislodging a corroded / rusted screw jammed across a Plastic surface

I recently faced a situation wherein the Door housing the mirror of my Toilet Cupboard (Plastic made) collapsed owing to the reason that the 2 x screws holding the door had severely worn out and got corroded / rusted due to humidity. Though the Toilet Cupboard was around 8 years old I did not want to get rid if it as it was all good to use except that the door had come off. So the best way was to fix the door to the main unit by replacing the 2 x screws.

I faced a daunting task when I saw the condition of the screws - they were worn out to such an extent that the head of the screw had almost gone flat and there was absolutely no way to dislodge the stubborn corroded / rusted screw using a screw driver. Applying little bit of pressure using a sharp object from the tail end also didn't work, as the screw had completely got entangled in the plastic body of the Toilet Cupboard.

Suddenly a brilliant idea struck me and which worked wonderfully and that's the same I will share with you how to dislodge such a corroded / rusted screw from a plastic surface / body - do remember, this should work only with a metallic screw stuck in a plastic body due to the science involved in this method.

What all you need -
1. A small Metal Filer.

2. Soldering Iron with pointed Head.


Method - 
1. Use the metal filer to flatten off the tail of the screw to the max you can without damaging the plastic body housing it.
2. Now warm up the Soldering Iron and once it is ready for use touch it on the flattened tail of the screw and start applying a little bit of pressure from the tail end towards the head end of the screw.
3. You will notice that as soon as the corroded / rusted screw becomes a little bit hot, it starts to soften the plastic around it and in a matter of 1+ mins it gets completely dislodged from the plastic body which any problem.

So a very simple heat treatment helps to restore your old cupboard. Wasn't this so easy and simple to do! Do share your views .......

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