Alternative to solder sucker/wick?

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upriverpaddler

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 11, 2004
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I gooped up too much solder across 3 points. I don't have access to a sucker or a wick (I'm at a remote work location). Does anyone have any neat tricks to remove solder?
 
The wick is just copper fiber right? Maybe you could strip some stranded copper cable and bunch it up and try that.
 
same dilemma here. LOL, exact same dilemma. idk waht to do. tried using copper wire as suggested above didnt really work well.
 
maybe try canned air to blow it away? I imagine long as you are a bit careful as to where it goes, you would be fine (just have to make sure that you dont cool down the solder too much though).
 
The wick is just copper fiber right?
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Yeah, but it also contains a small amount of flux. ;)


Does anyone have any neat tricks to remove solder?
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Depends on the size of the board.
If it is small just heat up the joint and bang it on the table.....the excess solder flies right off.
<insert warning about hot solder ruining your day if it gets into your eyes here>
 
Mister X said:
<insert warning about hot solder ruining your day if it gets into your eyes here>
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WARNING: The solder will be hot and will ruin your day if it gets in your eyes!! ;)

The unsoldering braid is cheap at RatShack if you need it.
 
If you want the stranded wire idea to work it will need to be of a significantly smaller gauge than the pad you are trying to remove the solder from, and be, at least, 24 individual strands... that being stated, the "wick" comes with rosin already in/on it. If you have rosin around, a separate paste or liquid, you can dip the stranded wire in that first to help the undesired solder wet or wick to the wire.

I have had success with globing even more solder over the already blobbed connections and pulling the blob off leaving just the right amount of solder behind to do the job. This method uses the rosin in the solder itself to clean the non-conductive areas between the pads and creates more surface tension for the solder only on the conductive pad that you want the solder to stick to.

My Suggestion;
If you plan on doing very much soldering now is a good time to add tools to your arsenal for future issues. Solder suckers, wick, or any other type of de-soldering tools are always worth-while when you are trying to keep from damaging the board ar associated components.
 
RadRob said:
If you want the stranded wire idea to work it will need to be of a significantly smaller gauge than the pad you are trying to remove the solder from, and be, at least, 24 individual strands... that being stated, the "wick" comes with rosin already in/on it. If you have rosin around, a separate paste or liquid, you can dip the stranded wire in that first to help the undesired solder wet or wick to the wire.

I have had success with globing even more solder over the already blobbed connections and pulling the blob off leaving just the right amount of solder behind to do the job. This method uses the rosin in the solder itself to clean the non-conductive areas between the pads and creates more surface tension for the solder only on the conductive pad that you want the solder to stick to.

My Suggestion;
If you plan on doing very much soldering now is a good time to add tools to your arsenal for future issues. Solder suckers, wick, or any other type of de-soldering tools are always worth-while when you are trying to keep from damaging the board ar associated components.
Click to expand...

Wow. Please stick around. Thanks.

Edit: Damn, you've been here longer than me, you just don't post much.
 
If possible, do what the above poster suggested. Turn the board over and put some solder on your iron.

I always keep paste flux around for the solder work that I do, so it is pretty easy to get solder off of a board. A little flux on an empty iron will usually pull enough solder onto the iron to clear the jumper.
 
Melt the solder and remove it with a damp sponge. The sponge will pull/trap the excess. Damp means lightly moist, not dripping. After removing the solder let the board sit and air dry just in case you got water on the board. YMMV
 
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