How do I remove a stripped screw?

For a lightly stripped head, lay a wide rubber band flat over the screw and press your driver into it. The rubber fills the chewed-out gaps and grabs enough to back the screw out. A dab of valve-grinding paste, or even a pinch of fine sand, can add bite the same way.

If the head is badly rounded, cut a fresh straight slot across it with a rotary tool and use a flat-head driver, or reach for a screw-extractor bit designed to bite in reverse as it turns.

Whichever method you use, steady downward pressure matters more than brute force — pushing hard keeps the tool seated so it turns the screw instead of slipping and chewing the head further.