De-soldering PCB's (tips)

[Ice-9]

The stuff i use is from "loctite" and has number " 291013 no-clean wick " written on it, its great stuff as opposed to the rolls of other wick i have that just doesn't work. I also use a flux pen which is a no clean voc free flux, flux is a must have. Oh and for anyone needing to remove SMD components my prefered method is to use a hot air soldering iron and a pair of tweezers for caps/resistors, and for chips i use the same hot air iron and some motorist feeler gauges to slide under the chip as it heats up.

[gmr1]

I do a lot of repairs for work and I've become quite proficient with this guy over the last year:



the "soldapullt". works real well. We have an electric solder pump as well ("the cow"... sounds like it moos when you hit the trigger), but it's usually too much trouble to get it out and heat it up - plus it can be a little rough on the pads.

I can tell you that the worst smelling solder I've dealt with was in an old Thomas Organ wah... hit me like a brick, even with the exhaust fan going!

[Paul Marossy]

My preferred method of part removal, at least for just about anything mounted on a board, is also solder braid. Just don't buy the cheap stuff! I've had cheap braid that didn't work at all and it's very frustrating.. Surprisingly the Radio Shack brand works quite well.

+1 - I also think that the RS desoldering braid works well. Although, lately it seems like it doesn't do the job quite like it used to. I think it has changed from what they had in the stores a few years ago. I still works good, but it doesn't seem to be quite as efficient...

[.Mike]

I have had really good results using Plato brand desoldering braid from Mouser. Place the braid on the joint, put the iron on the braid, and the solder wicks right up the braid. Nine times out of ten the part falls out on its own. The other time, you have to apply the slightest amount of pressure to get the part free.

I'm not sure if this link will work (it's a search result), but: http://www.mouser.com/Plato/Tools-Supplies/Tools/Soldering-Tools/_/N-5ggfZ1z11yu9Zscv7?P=1z0xi9y

Here are some item numbers in case it doesn't: XLNC-5-5, XL5-5, XLNC-4-5, XLNC-4-10

The one that I have ordered (multiple times) that works great is out of stock: XL4-5

Not particularly cheap, but the results are excellent.



Mike