How can i remove the paint from an electric outlet that has been painted over?

i have a 3 prong ind circuit outlet for my air conditioner that has been painted over.i would like to make it operational.how to do this without receiving a shock?How can i remove the paint from an electric outlet that has been painted over?
Sometimes having to run out for an inexpensive item just doesn't seem woth it, so, use a plastic knife. It'll work even to get the paint out of the screws.How can i remove the paint from an electric outlet that has been painted over?
You could:


-shut off power to it, remove it, and then clean it


-or just use your fingernail and scrape the paint off without touching any of the insides of the outlet


-just buy a new one and change it out
Change the outlet. It's very easy. Black wire goes to brass colored screw, white wire goes to silver screw. Bare copper wire goes to green ground screw. Turn off circuit before working !
Just change out the outlet. it is actually simpler than you think. Just make sure the breaker is off before you do any work on it.
Electric outlets and cover plates are not expensive, why not just change them? You will have to shut off the electricity to do it.
Go to home depot - buy a new socket. Flip the breaker off for this circuit, take the painted one out, put the new in - problem solved.
take the face plate off and use paint remover and scrub it off then screw back on the face plate.
just buy a neww one