ELECTRONIC, INFOMATION

Desoldering is just like soldering in that it is something that needs to be practiced. These tips should help you become successful quickly.

1. Use heatsinks. Heatsinks are a must for the leads of sensitive components such as ICs and transistors. If you don't have a clip on heatsink, then a pair of pliers is a good substitute.
2. Keep the iron tip clean. A clean iron tip means better heat conduction. Use a wet sponge to clean the tip between joints.
3. Check the pads. Use a continuity tester to check to make sure you did not damage the pad or trace when you removed the solder. If you did, then follow the steps above to fix it.
4. Use the proper iron. Remember that bigger joints will take longer to heat up with a 30W iron than with a 150W iron. While 30W is good for printed circuit boards and the like, higher wattages are great when desoldering heavy connections, such as those to a chassis.
5. Use both a solder sucker and solder wick. Use a solder sucker to remove the majority of the solder, then follow up with the wick to finish things up..