Help...desoldering Cool Cat Vibe

[modsquad]

Okay so I was going to rehouse my Cool Cat Vibe and started trying to desolder the goofy pots connected to the board.  I heated the pooh out of the pads and still had a hard time desoldering.  To make a long story short I ended up breaking crap and essentially snapping off the legs of the pots in the pads, still not getting the thing desoldered.

Does anyone who rehoused the pedal have any tips to get the parts desoldered that need to be.

[Mark Hammer]

Efficient and safe desoldering requires that solder reflow be as fast as possible.  So, what is standing in the way of getting that solder melted and removed quickly?

1) Your soldering tip.  A big blunt tip that allows you to install through-hole components on expansive layouts may not be specific/accurate enough to apply heat to those targeted areas on a commercial PCB that have been installed by machine.

2) The seamless application of heat.  Even if your soldering tip is nice and pointy, you should not be applying heat just to the end of the component lead.  So how do you apply heat to the entire joint all at once?  Simple.  melt a bit of solder on the end of your iron before applying it to the component to be desoldered.  That melted solder conforms perfectly to the profile of the existing joint and distributes the heat perfectly.

3) Insulation between joint and heat.  There can often be barriers of one type or another between the solder joint and your iron.  Oxides, coatings, and even dust in older boards.  If you have a small fine wire bristle brush, it's a good idea to brush the joint first to remove any barriers in the way.  And if you need to scrape off any coatings, do it.

4) Efficient removal of solder.  Solder suckers and blowers can do a decent job remove the sort of clumps and blobs that used to show up with great regularity on EHX and MXR products in the 70's.  But they do not have the sort of specificity and suction needed to remove those small webs of solder you find on contemporary wave-soldered circuit boards.  For that, you need solder wick.  And if you want the solder wick to work even better, I recommend dabbing a bit of liquid flux on it first; especially if the spool is old enough or exposed enough to the elements to have tarnished over time.  Solder suckers are like tapping your plate over the garbage can after a big meal with lots left over.  Solder wick is like having a hungry dog come over and lick the plate clean.

[modsquad]

Thanks Mark, I got all that...I guess what I am getting at is that after doing most of what you suggested the stuff doesn't seem to want to adhere to the desolder braid.   I thought I remember someone saying they use some sort of solder that's really difficult to deal with.  Unfortunately I couldn't find that post.

[DougH]

It's probably ROHS compliant and they use lead free solder. Doesn't sound like fun. Good luck.

[modsquad]

Actually found the original post and you are correct.   They use lead free solder.   Someone mentioned mixing in leaded solder and then using the braid.