How to remove this doorbell (paint related)

ohman

Hi guys, I guess this is a more paint related questions so I'm posting it here instead of the Electrical area...

Here is a picture of the current doorbell:



As you can see all three(?) screws on this doorbell button was painted with thick paint, so I can't really unscrew it. However the button is not working and has been there for a long time (totally dead, can't even press it). Is there a good way to remove it? Would heat gun work in this case? Other tools that I can try to remove it?? Thanks!

joecaption

Clean out what you can with a utily knife then rap the handle end of the screw driver a few times to break out the paint.
If all esle fails you can use a Demel tool with a slotting blade to make a slot for a flat screw driver.

sdsester

If you have any leftover paint stripper around, you can just use an artist brush to apply a small amount and soften the paint in the screw heads. As Joe suggested, you should be able to get it with a utility knife blade---just watch the thing does not slip on you and put a gash in your hand. It is not really the purpose of a screwdriver but one should work to notch out paint if you can soften it to get started.

Don't assume the wires are dead just because the doorbell button does not work. They will be low voltage but can still give you a little jolt. Disable them properly before sealing over the hole. Or are you putting a knew doorbell button in place over it?

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ohman

I finally got it off by using hammer and slotted screwdriver.. thanks everyone for your help!