pained over ceiling rose

I was going to replace the old ceiling rose in my hall way as it's old and ugly, but I can't take the old one off. It looks like someone pained it over. I don't want to pul it from the ceiling as it looks like the cable is not too long anyway and I am afraid to damage something. Any ideas how to open the old rose?

post a photo

will be much easier to see whats goning on that way

Switch off lighting. Cut round where the rose meets plaster with a very sharp knife - take care!

Then try unscrewing.

If it still does not come, tap it lightly with a hammer. If still no movement, try screwing it tighter rather than trying to unscrew it. This works 99% of the time.

If a combination of these things still fails, you could tap the ceiling rosea little harder till it cracks and break it off. Then you can access the fixing screws, remove it and install the new fitting.

Don't forget to power down first!!