Hidden screws again.

[ScrooLoose]

Hello All.
I am starting the process of repairing my doors. (62 D100 Custom SWB) Doors are off of the truck. Overall the doors are good. Sheet metal is just fine. Going to spray the inside with internal frame coating after some scraping. Want to replace door seals, window track rubber, cat whiskers Etc. Question is removing the vent window my hidden screws are completely rusted in place. Will not budge. Tearing up the phillips heads trying. Do I dare to drill them out. Was thinking of running a small drill bit inside steel tubing as a protective sleeve so not to tear up the rubber to reach them. Any ideas.
Thanx.
ScrooLoose.
Or should I say "ScrooStuck"

[Hobcobble]

If you can place an appropriately sized drift punch on the side
of the screw head and give it a couple raps with a hammer, it
might loosen them up enough to back them out.

John

[Wildergarten]

If you can place an appropriately sized drift punch on the side
of the screw head and give it a couple raps with a hammer, it
might loosen them up enough to back them out.

John

I used to keep the shaft and tip from a destroyed Phillips screwdriver for exactly that purpose. If one grinds it a bit pointy, it minimizes distortion of the head and helps clean out the bottom of the "crossed slot" on the Phillips screw head while assuring that the forces imparted are dead axial. Getting the driver deeper into the screw is key to getting as much torque to what's left of it as you can. I wish they made longer tips on a small hand-held impact driver to that end, but holding the driver shaft I described with a pair of Vise Grips is almost as good.

A second trick is to take a very small pair of Vise Grips to the screw shaft itself from underneath and at least give it a wiggle. Worst case one can snap the screw from there and remove the assembly.