Wow! not even 4 minutes into the vid, and my life has been changed forever!

25-13 - For as long as I've been doing this, I never knew I was using solder braid all wrong: 1. Flux the clean braid; 2. Allow the solder to flow up the braid 'till it stops; 3. Slowly and gently drag the braid and iron away from the hole. Done! Thanks for all the other tips, too.

This is great! I've been struggling with desoldering multipin components for 30 years, used braid, solder pumps, hot air... never seen this! Works a treat and I'm very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom.

I've been soldering since I was 12, and now 70. Never too old to learn something new. If only I had known this method years ago I would have saved so much time, burnt fingers and damaged components. Thanks for making it so easy. PS I enjoyed the stereo sound fx, as i was listening on headphones. 🎧👍

It just goes to show that an old dog can learn new tricks. I'm 65 years old and have been soldering for over 50 years, built and repaired many kits and equipment and have never seen this method before. This is why i love KZfaq, it's the best learning platform on the planet. Many thanks for sharing this fantastic method and allowing me to add another skill to my arsenal. All the best from Australia, cheers.

I would like to join others who have extended their thanks to you for sharing this simple and very effective technique. As a retired BBC engineer, I just wish that I could have discovered it 60 years ago!

You could've made this video 10 years ago and save me some really frustrating times 🙂 Great video. Really appreciate you sharing this, mate!

If only more tutorials were like this! Nice rock steady shots, you can see exactly what’s being done, excellent audio narrative and best of all - no idiotic muzak all the way through! Thank you for these excellent videos.

When I think of the years of pain I could of saved myself if I'd come across your channel before now, of course you have to have certain soldering skills and inventiveness when your resources are minimal but you have demonstrated simple but extremely effective methods. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

The end of some of my disasters. You are well-appreciated mate

38 sodding years I’ve worked electronics as an assembler, technician and development engineer - and I did not know about the copper wire trick! Thank-you!

I've learned something new !!! Thank You ! I use 99% alcohol and a small horse hair brush cut short to stiffen the hairs to clean the board afterward. You can add the liquid down the hollow handle for difficult areas. Then it evaporates with no water residue, allowing you to test the result instantly without having to wait on the area to dry after removing the component. If the area is really dirty, you can use scrubbing bubbles, then the alcohol to remove that. I place the wick over multiple holes with good results. Practice. Don't cook or burn the board. Buy/make good tweezers. Sometimes, the leads are tight in the holes/vias. The method/tips shown here are sure winners ! Thanks again; I learned a lot, and I've been doing this for 50 years ! Great !

You just changed my life. Ty!!! I've been fighting desoldering and cleaning the holes for years.

Genius, I wish I’d seen this 30 years ago! Thanks for posting this video, my life will never be the same again. Thank you.

Been soldering since a little after I could walk, that is to say 50 plus years. I have a large array of soldering irons from Weller, Metcal, and Pace. I have some custom copper bars for desoldering that do much the same but took far more effort to fabricate. I like your idea of using solid copper wire as a heat spreader. Learned something new. Old dogs and such. Been wicking and using desoldering stations for a very long time and have done the very same thing for decades with the flux on wick to make it pull the solder out harder.

Thanks so much for teaching us a brilliant bunch of tricks, this is the best desoldering tutorial on the internet!

I was an industrial electrician for 20 years and did basic electronic repairs on and off, but you definitely showed me something here for sure! I wish I had known or even thought of this years ago! It never crossed my mind, but it will from now on. Thanks so much for sharing this!

76 year old here trained in the military in 1965 in electronics and soldering techniques back in the day. This is such an eye opener. thank you.

This video was a gem of technique. Never thought that salvaging parts was so doable until I saw this video.

Thumbs up! 54 years of electronic work under my belt, I endorse your technics. You presented them very thoroughly and expertly.

So simple, so obvious, why did I never think of it in my years as an engineer. Excellent video. The man's a genius. I can't wait to try this system out on a couple of old circuit bosrds.

Wow, I wish someone would have taught me that back about 40 years ago when I started board level repairs of TV's and Radios, LOL. Sure would have saved me a lot of work and would have saved the PCB's a lot of pain from me trying to get components off. You're never too old to learn new things. Thanks for sharing!!!

I have been trying to learn how to PROPERLY do this for ages . . . I am in my 60's & have a piece of fine English Audio gear that has failed due to the transformer that is now unavailable & obsolete. I have been near tears because this unit is amazing. So VERY, VERY happy that I have found this wonderful mentor to teach me how PROPERLY. How absolutely awesome my friend! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Sir

Like many others here, I've been soldering for decades and this obvious but genius technique never occurred to me I'm ashamed to say! Desolder braid with flux is always preferable to solder suckers as they can easily damage the board. On that topic, tip for new players is don't put any pressure on the tip when using braid as the adhesive softens and you will distort the pad which will then lift, which is exactly what the recoil on those manual solder suckers does.

Soldering this type of plastic joint has been a pain for me for a long time, and now I finally get the hang of it, thank you very much! Greetings from fans in Taipei, Taiwan❤❤❤❤❤

Wow, that's amazing how fast those components come out! A big thanks for this!

I’ve melted so many solder sucker tips over the years, but now I know the proper way. Thank you!

This old dog learned a new trick! This is a clever method to get the heat applied fast to minimize circuit trace damage. I have to remove large heat sinks with components attached and plastic housed components I have to reuse to get to the failed part. Heavy solder points from wave solder pools are transfered rapidly without melting unsoldering each joint separately. Very smart!

This is the best desoldering tip I have ever seen. Thank you!

45 years of soldering and I wish I had known this trick with the wire, but I do love me some salted solder braid. Thanks great video you are the man.

Brilliant. I started playing with electronics more than 40 years ago, i learned something new today.

Excellent tips - I've soldered thousands of things and almost embarrased to think I've never known this great tip, thanks

That is just amazing! I can’t begin to imagine how many projects I could have salvaged had I learned about this. Thank you.

Fantastic tips, great camerawork, & just plain awesome well-explained desoldering information! I'm definitely using these techniques in the future!

Easy? No way, unless you have a lot of experiences doing it. My respects to you, speechless, simply amazing.

I don't even solder, but this guy recommended. Nice video

Duh! Flux on the braid! 🤦 It seems so obvious now; why the hell didn't I think of that, I've been blundering along for years with what I thought were just crappy braids, then going back to a solder pump, then back to braids again... rinse and repeat! Thank you for the great tips, and the most excellent vijayo; I've just subscribed. 👍

This technique is BRILLIANT. Thank you for demonstrating it. It is far superior to anything I've used before. Again, thanks for showing me the easiest and safest method!

Soldering since 1967, never tried this, brilliant technique, cheers mate.

Removed big mains transformer using two wires and two irons. Absolutely perfect trick. Tank you!

This is genius. This will save the life of many components. Thank you for sharing this.

I love that technique, can't wait to have the opportunity to try it!

Wait, you can desolder a component by adding more solder? Yes, I tried it and it's the best method I have ever done in fifty years of experience. No damage to PCB or component. Now I look forward to removing difficult components instead of dreading the process. You have taught an old dog a new trick. Thank you

You're my hero! Thank you so much for this, I've struggled so much with multi pin components for years. You've changed my world.. I've wasted my life lol

Another good one Sir. Even though this is just a hobby for me, these videos you produce make my life with this so much easier and more enjoyable. Thanks again!

One of the best How-To videos I've seen! I've been at the soldering game for about 70 years but learned some new and very useful techniques here. Besides providing very useful content, your presentation was very well done and easy to watch!

Brilliant, i haven't done much desoldering but when I have I have always struggled, thank you for sharing :)

Excellent video. Anyone who needs to solder and remove components and doesn't know about this should watch. Highly recommended.

Thank you for the awesome tips! I’ll be trying this trick out! To return a few of my own, flux pens are awesome, as are pre-fluxed solder wicks. I noticed you’re using a zip tie to apply flux, yes that works, but flux pens are super convenient. It’s basically a felt tip marker or paint pen with flux instead of ink. Also, my wick of choice is MG Chemicals SuperWick. It’s impregnated with flux, and they make a ton of different widths and flux types. When I’m cleaning holes up, I like to lay solder wick over several pads at once, and gently slide the iron back and forth, while applying minimal pressure with the iron. This typically works good enough, and it’s much more efficient than doing each pad at a time. I will admit that the results are not as impressive as the single hole at a time you displayed in the video. Thanks again!

thank you for your clever desoldering tips man!

I am in debt to you ! This has changed my life ! Thankyou

Most useful soldering tutorial I’ve ever seen - thank you!!

Great tutorial ! I've never thought of this method either and I've been soldering and de-soldering for 55 years. Many thanks.

Thanks for this tip. I've been struggling to remove a switch with four pins that are each 5mm apart making it terribly difficult to get them all wet at the same time. This will work great and you're desoldering with the flux, so simple but I never thought to try it. Beautiful results. Thanks.

I’m new to de-/soldering and am very glad this came across my feed. Thank you so much, this will be very handy for me in the future and give me a great head start.

Honestly this is the best way to remove parts .i have damaged a lot of board before watching your videos. Is net straight to the point without listening to unnecessary drama. Thank you so much.

You have turned something that is very painful, difficult and dangerous (to pcb and components) into an art form. A technique beginners could perform successfully. Well done and thank you for sharing.

Thank you so much for this AWESOME video, rest assured your kind tutorial has not gone wasted, top Geezer, please post more, i'm attempting to getting into Automotive pcb's (e.c.u ) repairs, as i have always had a keen interest in electronics, Modern day platforms like Y tube has immense global reach as in the old day's was enrolling into colleges and part time courses, now anytime is the best time to suit everyone's timetables, learn as you go along at a leisurely pace. much respects , Bless 🙂😇🥰

Wish I knew about this back in the 70's Thank you. I learned something today that I'll use for the rest of my years! +1

Wow! I love the trick, it's cool! Fast, safe and clean. Now, I have to convince my boss of that 😅 I'll show him this tutorial! Thank you for sharing your knowledge ❤

A really good example of thermal distribution, wish Id thought of this decades ago instead of following the pattern of those before & hrrm despite fact I'm an electronic engineer that should have known better re heat - ie 2 yrs course physics for overall 4 years heady stuff too, could have saved me huge time long ago especially when removing parts from usable circuit boards. Your method saves so much risk of damaging boards such as via separation from either layer, well done, thanks :-)

Dude you're the best, straight to the point, no ego dissertation or Abacus humping here! I just learned more in this video than I have in 20 hours of other videos

I’m impressed … whenever I learn something new, I am impressed …. Thank you 🙏🏻

I worked in a repair shop for 8 years and been repairing devices for a further 9 years and this is the best method i've ever seen, the time and frustration i could of saved if only i knew this method 17 years ago - thankyou so much SUBSCRIBED

I always have difficulty in trying to clear out the holes on very small, often TINY, barrels with any type of solder sucker. Using the copper braid is the way to go on them and makes the job a LOT easier! On the larger barrel holes, you can often get away with using a solder sucker. I like using the type that is attached to its own desoldering iron as it just seems easier that way than using a separate sucker AND a separate iron. Very nice and informative video as always friend! I always learn something new from you! 👍👍

Your video production quality is top notch, straight to the point, audio level is exceptional. Thanks for the trick/tips. Wish I could find the dry wipes you use here in the states.

Now this, my friend, is true art of craftmanship. Thank you for showing us!

Thank you for teaching me this phantastic technique! Have a nice day!

very amazing skill

I hope you don’t mind a few questions. But I must say how awesome this video is. Very well done and I have been using a soldering irons for a long time. What size Brad are you using? What gauge copper wire are you using? And finally, what flux (brand/part #) are you using? Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Genius! Ive spent so much time and broken some through-hole components struggling to get them off! This is a game changer! Thank you

Absolutely great. As said below I've struggled to remove multiple pin components. I woke up this morning never thinking this Old Dog could learn something new. Thank you.

I have never been able to get solder braid to work and I’ve tried hundreds of times, hoping it would magically work each time. Is there something I’m missing? The solder always seems content to stay where it’s at and I end up burning the board, and just give up.

If Carlsberg did Desoldering Vids . . . . . . Even if I didn't have anything to desolder I would go & find something. This has truly helped me, thanks

WOW!! What beautiful work. Great idea and it’s so easy to clean up the board and holes leaving everything ready to use next time around. I’ve always seemed to get by removing components this size. But always leaving a mess plus sometimes damaging the board or components. Here is a sure fire way to do this job RIGHT! Thank you! I’m 73 years old now, and I’m not as steady as I used to be. I’m subscribing now looking forward to the other videos from this gentleman!!

Man the amount of time I've spent trying to desolder multi pin headers. As soon as you see this you're like awww strewth why didn't I think of that? Brilliant. I've got a hot air rework gun now but this has me wanting to try it just because lol! Thanks!

Finally youtube got me some good recommendation, thanks for sharing your tips! Exceptional video quality!

Man the best video on soldering I have ever seen. Awesome thanks!

Simple and effective! This was exactly what I needed to finish repairing a module I shelved for a few years due to not being able to remove larger relays and connectors. Thank you for sharing this with us. Cheers!

I use this video for my electronics classes! They love it for 2 reasons. First, is that they are excellent for desoldering difficult components. The second, he sounds just like me! Awesome job!

As the other comments, I have learnt something new. Been soldering for years and never tried this. (soon will though!) What an eye opener. Thanks for the information.

This is how to teach people and even kids. Thanks for great a lesson

WOW!… You're a genius!… Excellent upload!

Great video! I'm working for a few years in repair industry and learned new tricks from you, thanks!

Google is 100% not only listening but watching and reading minds as well. I destroyed a THT isolated brick PSU today trying to desolder it. This is really a life savior, I have to remove 4 of them, now I know how.

Of all the KZfaq videos I've watched in the past months, this must be the single most useful video I've seen. I really wish I had seen it a week ago as I had to remove 16 ZIP sockets a few days ago - and it cost me the board being ruined. Managed to overheat two spots and pull one trace :( This method would definitely not have had the same consequences. This is definitely a method I will add to my arsenal. Thanks!

Thanks for this video! That’s exactly what they didn’t tell/show me during training. Great technique!

I'm 76 and like your other viewers I have learned so much here. Thank you, 😁 from New Zealand

Brilliant that! In my opinion you're never to old or experienced to learn new tricks and techniques.

Thank you very much for this priceless information!!! You are a true gentleman!!! Cheers from Canada!!!

Man! I take my hat off!!! Thank you very much for sharing your experience!!! I congratulate you for the clean and fast work!!

This is fantastic! Thanks so much, Mr. SolderFix, you are brought down from heaven.

Oh my, you are a god. Thanks for sharing this knowledge

WOW, in a world of useless youtube videos this is actually something useful! Thank you for this video. You got my sub.

I was sceptical at the very beginning of the video, and totally convinced at the end.

Thank very much for your prompt reply and the insightful information. I really struggled back then with the de-soldering process. I worked for a small company, and I guess they couldn’t afford or simply didn’t have the proper equipment.

I have to desolder 200 4-pin right angled headers from 100 PCBs. Your videos will greatly speed up this rework. Thanks!

This technique was a lifesaver. With no air gun and poor soldering skills, I had no idea how I'd remove an 8-pin, trapezoidal component. Thankfully I found this video, and had two irons & some copper wire. Wasn't as pretty as the vid and took a couple of attempts, but the job got done. Great advice delivered in a really pleasant British accent.

I came distrustful I return amazed. Amazing tricks indeed. Thanks for sharing!

Super rešenje i hvala na prezentaciji !