This might sound like a weird hint, but here goes: I... ahem... acquired... some packs of plast
icky dental sticks from a hotel years ago :rolleyes: . I played with them during dinner while there and realized they might be good for this purpose... so, I kept some "samples".
Indeed, when filed with a nail file I can make beautiful
wedges from them.
They do not scratch any surfaces at all. And they are very light, no handles etc. so I can freely move any PCB I stick them in without worry. Can take a break from work, for example, without any "extra care".
Check your local supermarket. They can be a bit difficult to find, though.
Because I'm not sure what they are actually made of, the stuff is kind of papery in the sense that it breaks when bent enough, but it feels like plastic, not paper or wood.
Whatever you use, when you have a submillimeter separation between the nub pcb and the actual pcb, separate the connection(s) via vacuum or solderwick. Or if there is no excess solder, by simply by heating only the nub side of the joint --> solder will "hop up" from the PCB side of the joint. (Same process for chips, by the way unless you got a rework station).
As already said, but should be stressed: Absolutely
no pulling.
I've never had much luck with desolder ribbon personally.
Well I use solderwick more than the vacuum. It is quite useless without flux, though, you really need to coax some flux into the wick. Some wicks apparently have flux in them, but these days I just buy the plain stuff and add fresh flux, cheaper that way and still works better. Wick has more uses than just removing excess solder while replacing parts, especially when you try to work with SMC armed with only an iron (
, but I've made a firm decision a SMC station will be my next "big" purchase
).
There are SMC chips that are (when the PCB is mostly unpopulated) quickest to solder by using solder generously and then just wicking the excess out.
Will a 15-30w $15 solder iron be ok for the job or should I get something better?
I would get a cheap
temperature controlled one. They are still cheap, but in my experience things like digital displays and higher wattage (quick warmup) are more "optional" and "just neat'. Temperature control is really good to have especially if you are clearing excess solder someone else has put in place or are just not very sure of what it is you're doing, you need to be that extra bit more watchful and quick with an iron that is not temperature controlled.
Could be just my lack of skill from back then, though... Haven't used those $15 irons for a looooong while and when I did I was only starting. Anyway it is also a question of work ergonomics - the actual iron in a soldering station is much lighter and nicer to operate.
Oh and one last thing: Don't forget that
in theory the Pandora is ROHS, so using ROHS (i.e. leadless) solder is recommended, I'd guess...
But of course in your case you remove the old solder fully anyways?
I'm not going to say mixing the two is really bad, not knowing anything at all about chemistry stuff... but for myself, I simply use whichever is appropriate kind of "out of habit and neatness".
