Getting started with SMD rework?

[highwater]

A friend gave me an EHX Soul Food to fix... I traced the problem to a bad 7660, but I've never worked with SMD before.

The local electronics shop/repair place gave me a board to practice on. I can manage to get resistors and caps off and back on (I think they're 0604) with just my iron and some solder wick, but no luck on the ICs... so I'm going to need some new tools.

What's my best option for under $50 or so? I'd prefer not to use QuikChip, but will consider it if a small supply is likely to outlast a rework station in my price range.

Also, can I use leaded solder on a lead-free board as long as I clean the flux off when I'm done? If not, how specific do I need to be about what lead-free solder I use?

[j_flanders]

I use thick copper wire which I shape (file, ply, cut, sand). I turn them into shapes, like little forks with 2 teeth for example for smd caps and resistors. They're a bit like 'hot tweezers'.

The wire has pretty much the same diameter as a standard soldering tip. I insert it into an old cheap soldering iron.
The pure copper conducts heat very well, lasts much longer than I suspected, wets very well but also oxidizes quite quickly so you need to clean it very oftenly.

For IC's I take a very thin wire and insert it under an IC leg, make a loop or hook, and while I touch the IC pin/leg with a regular or home made fine solder tip, I pull the wire away from the IC, underneath the IC pin/leg, slightly upward angle, and it will lift the little leg from the pcb, slightly bent upwards.

If the wire is too thin it will resolder itself after the wire has passed underneath. Find a middle ground between ease of getting it around the leg and thin enough to not pull off the leg alltogether in case you want to reuse the ic, or just want to lift one pin if you're modding a pedal.

This has worked well for smaller IC's up to 14 pin or so. For 100+ pin ic's you probably need a more dedicated, professional tool.