7
Desoldering wick was ruining my work. Then I tried flux first.
Been fixing dead power supplies for years. Always fought with desoldering wick. It would just sit there, not pulling anything. Last Tuesday I tried putting liquid flux on the joint before the wick. Night and day difference. Stuff flowed right up into the braid first try. Has anyone else found that one simple change that made a huge difference?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
joseph52922d ago
Yeah that's a solid tip for sure. One thing though, you said you put flux on the joint before the wick. Most people actually put flux on the wick itself, not the joint. The wick is thirsty for it, and it helps the solder climb up into the braid way better. I dab a little liquid flux right on the tip of the wick before I even touch it to the board, and it makes a huge difference.
7
alicec8622d ago
Honestly, I gotta push back on that one a little. Putting flux on the wick works great for the initial contact, sure, but once that wick touches the joint, the flux on the tip burns off almost instantly from the heat of the iron. I find it's way more reliable to put a tiny dab of flux right on the solder blob on the board, then lay the dry wick on top of it. That way the flux is actually where the action is, melting and drawing the solder up from the joint itself, not just sitting on the outside of the braid. Tbh, you end up with less leftover flux residue on the board too.
1