Stripped screw heads by rust

[Zorilias]

Hey guys, newcomer here.
I picked up my old Ibanez Gax30 to get it back up and running and honestly I didn't know anything about guitar care when I first got it.
It got now to a point that most of the screws are eaten with rust and can't be adjusted. I care less for the body screws but what's bothering me is the bridge, it was so ****** up already a while back that I got an original replacement for it and it was perfect.
somehow after treating it just right for a long while, i found out the higher saddle screw on the highest saddle (for the low E string) is stripped because of the rust. So I'm unable to adjust the saddle's height.
I tried using rubber bands as some people suggested, it worked partially, only after hitting the allen wrench's head i managed to screw it a bit before losing grip again.
Do you have any suggestions?

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome. Looks like it's got a fairly Fender-like fixed bridge saddle arrangement.

If they are that rusty, I'd be looking for a complete new set of saddles. If you look on eBay, you can get a whole new set of replacement saddles from China for around $5.

Like this ...

[stan]

hi mate and welcome to the forum

try some of those rust conversion treatments available from hardware stores - but I dont know how they react with certain finishes

oh, and please edit a certain word in your post - we feel the same about guitar troubles, but this is a family forum...

good luck with it

[Hobastard]

If you want to keep the saddle, and you can find a replacement screw, try removing the saddle, give it a good soak of penetrating oil, Lanotec is good, but WD40 will probably do, then try unscrewing it from the bottom with a good pair of pliers. This will probably destroy the screw, but at least it will make way for a replacement one. Failing that, you can get saddles or even bridges from my favourite shop, eBay, for next to nothing.......

[Brendan]

hi mate and welcome to the forum

oh, and please edit a certain word in your post - we feel the same about guitar troubles, but this is a family forum...

Mods on the job ...