I'm "assuming" that the hinges are off. Boil them in an old pot. Most of the paint will come right off. I'm betting there's brass under there.

Paint remover will also work.

Thanks everyone.... the hinges are still on the connected to both the door and woodwork. Chipped the old paint off but can't get them unscrewed! Why, oh why, do people paint over eveything?!?!

Yep, boiling will take most -- if not all -- of it off. Then you can use just a little paint remover if needed to get it totally clean.

Jane Powell, who has written a bunch of books about bungalows, says there is a special place in Hell reserved for people who paint hardware. :)

Are the screw slots filled still with paint? If so, use remover, and something to carefully clean them out,(I use something like a single edged razor blade) and try again. You might see if the plumbers' trick works. Spray with some WD40, or liquid wrench, then bang them a few times to help loosen the screws. Bang carefully only on the metal parts. Sometimes that works. Otherwise, it's a slow, tedious process to get those screws to start moving.

annz, jaysmom, carminnc, bungalow & marg..... thanks so much for coming to my rescue! The quote from Jane Powell made my day :) Banging those hinges with the hammer is helping also! Your responses give me the incentive to try again - I'll give you an update soon I hope.

I wonder if a heat gun would work.

This site says to try heating the screws with the tip of a hot glue gun.

Here is a link that might be useful: unscrew those suckers

Brush paint stripper carefully over screw heads as liberally as possible and not have major drips. Cover with saran wrap and seal around edges. Leave overnight. Should be able to wipe most off easily next day. Try not to get stripper on anything other than the area on and around screws. When hinges are removed place in an old coffee can and saturate with stripper. Place lid on can and leave overnight. Clean as you did screw heads.

I use a thin screwdriver and hammer and tap lightly on the screwdriver with the tip on the screw slot at an angle to chip out the paint until the slot is exposed enough to use. If the slot is stripped and you can't unscrew them even after tapping with a hammer, go to the hardware store and get an "easy out" and a drill bit of the correct size to use with it. You drill a small hole in the center of the screw head and then use the easy out to back the screw out of the hole. This assumes you have a drill. A power screwdriver helps with this too.

I have a crock pot just for my hardware. A few drops of dawn or other dish soap, water and soak on low overnight. The paint just peels off the next morning. Use tongs to pull hardware out because it's really hot. You may need to brush a little of it off.

OMG, couldn't stop laughing about bungalow house's comment...."there is a special place in hell for those who paint hardware". Its right next to those who paint beautiful detailed woodwork! Our first home was built in 1900, and some idiot painted all the old woodwork, that is what they didn't remove! What a job it was to strip it. I left a curse for the person who originally painted it and anyone that repainted it in the future. Its comforting to know there is a place reserved for them in hell:) LOL