Remove a Flush Stripped Screw
Hammering the next size up driver bit into a stripped screw head to cut fresh grip before backing it out with a drill.
Erase Scratches in Composite Decking With a Heat Gun
Surface scratches in composite or PVC deck boards can't be sanded out like wood — but gentle heat re-flows the plastic surface and makes them disappear.
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The Problem
Composite and PVC decking earn their keep by never needing stain or seal — until a dragged planter or a dog's claws leave surface scratches. On wood you'd sand them out; on capped composite, sanding destroys the factory surface and voids the look you paid for. The scratches just sit there.
The Technique
A deck-building crew's fix: heat. Wave a heat gun over the scratched area and the thermoplastic surface softens just enough to re-flow, closing up surface scratches. The demonstration is on PVC decking, and the same principle applies to composite's plastic cap — this is a plastic-surface trick, not a wood one.
Watch the video for the pace and distance — the whole move is in how the heat is applied.
Pro tip: Keep the gun moving and build heat gradually — the line between "re-flowed" and "melted a shiny spot" is temperature, and every board formulation responds a little differently. Test somewhere hidden (inside a picture-frame border, behind a planter) before working the scratch you can see from the kitchen window.
Safety note: This works only on surface scratches in the plastic. Deep gouges through a composite board's cap layer expose the core and can't be re-flowed shut — that's a board-replacement conversation, not a heat-gun one.
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