I just gave your twisting method a try on an old Macintosh LC II motherboard that had leaky caps and it worked an absolute treat! All of the legs broke off cleanly and none of the solder pads look to have been damaged, despite the corrosive gunk that has been on there for who knows how long. With a bit of vinegar and IPA it cleaned up pretty nicely too, no severe damage that I can spot, so it looks like this board will be saved. Many thanks for showing this technique and giving me the confidence to try it!

Twist method gang over here! I've removed hundreds of SMD caps this way and have never lifted a pad, even on some real damaged PCBs. So it seems safe and is very quick. Agree that trying to heat 1 leg and tilting it is the worst way, that one I was lifting pads quite often.

That knowing smile at 9:20 was wonderful :) Thanks for the capacitor advice, been putting off some SMD replacement but think am going to have to bite the bullet soon so this has been really helpful!

I'm a snipper. Twisting is just a bit too violent IMO, whereas snipping when done carefully shouldn't be pulling on the pads (I always cut in the axis of the pads, and apply some careful downwards pressure to counteract any potential upwards pulling). And no need for a lot of heat on these old PCBs. What I worry about with twisting, is the potential for sideways pulling on the potentially weakened pads.

HOW DARE YOU TAKE CAPS OFF HOW I DONT! 😆😆 Very neat work Mark. My fave method is 2 soldering irons but Im pretty decent with my left hand (ooer). Ive often snipped them off with the tips of flush cutters, that way you can nip through the can a little at a time without any pressure. But Im coming round to your twisted methods!

I love all the armchair experts that can’t help but tell you their method is better and yours is wrong. Even after you repeatedly said this is what you prefer and they can do what they prefer. It is almost like they are a little slow to grasp things. Great video. I’m looking forward to part two.

Just starting out at fixing a few old snes consoles I have, used your twist method successfully, thanks for the lesson 👍🏻

I think low melt solder could help a lot with the unsoldering of those caps, even with just the soldering iron.

Great video! My favourite bit was the what felt like a whole year it took for you to realise the mistake. I was chortling along. The moment you realised was a gem. Good luck with part 2!

I just did this myself last weekend to a snes and i used the twist method. I using pliers from the top putting light pressure pushing down. Instead of single twist motion, i decided on light left and right twisting to break off the smd caps.

The Twist technique appears quite logical. Yesterday, my brother and I replaced the capacitors in a Gamegear (unfortunately, it emitted a dreadful fish odor) using the method you advised against. Surprisingly, we encountered no difficulties removing the capacitors using that approach. However, your point about needing to apply more heat, particularly with faulty capacitors, is valid. I think I am going to try this twist method on a donor board. Your videos are great!

Just recapped mine using the hot tweezers method. replacements were SMD also. went pretty smooth. I got the console 5 kit for it (and the other consoles i've done) and it is nice to have everything you need in one bag. everything is high quality replacements like rubycons

That was the most informative Retro Repair video I've ever seen. And I've watched many, if not all of them. Thank you very much!

8:28 Thanks for the various SMD Cap removal methods & putting forth your preferred one. Ever since my old eyes & steady hands are beginning to lose their focus, I really appreciate alternative methods to the iron 😸

Great video. Now for part 2.

Twist off method is the best for me too. I know I've made a video about that before, lol.

From what i have read in the 90,s a lot of capacitors where not made correctly and more prone to leaking..

Great video. The only thing I would add would be using a marker to mark the orientation/polarity of the caps prior to removing them, or taking a photo of the board prior to removing them :)

Excellent advice at 9:07, I will use this in the future 😉 Very well rounded and smooth video, it shows just how much you know about the subject! Thanks for the great videos 😁

I prefer desoldering just because Im afraid of applying mechanical force on the pads, feels like the board is less sensitive to heat than force.

Excellent as always. I agree on the capacitors: whatever works without destroying the board. I've been leaning towards the snip method (cutting parallel to the pads to put less stress on them), but if the twist isn't pulling pads, then more power to you. If I can't cut parallel, I'd probably go Chubby Checker on them too. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Sound modules can also be found in early USA SNES systems, I don't care how ugly it is, I love my low leakage through hole caps, different caps different techs for removal I reckon is the best, I would never use the twist method for the leaky caps in PC Engine Duos or Amiga 600s for instance as the pads are usually already eaten and the PCBs are shit poor quality, I like to press down pressure and then snip away, but like you said it is up to the tech doing the work and their method that works for them, good video mate, thank you for making it.

The hot tweezers method works quite well if you add flux and fresh solder before removing the cap. But I mostly use hot air if there aren't any plastic parts nearby that would melt.

In my opinion, the safest way to do surface mount capacitors is to mask the surrounding areas and then use a rework gun. And in regards to the twist method, I can't say either way for the Super Nintendo because I've never done that but I know from experience that you do not want to use that method on a Gameboy Advance because the pads are too delicate

add low temp solder and flux to the pads. it will reduce the melting point to about 130 deg C and then you can use hot air or soldering iron. For the bad condition boards it is the safest

Ah the look of "I friggin dare you" at 9:13. Brilliant.

A very informative video! For electrolytics both snip and twist depending on the position and condition of the capacitors. I also have a similar desoldering tweezer and it's useless like yours, it doesn't heat up at all, and I prefer to use two cheap Chinese soldering irons that work great when I harvest tantalum and ceramic capacitors from old boards.

Oooh, controversial SMD cap removal techniques. Methods 4 and 5 are my preferred - no guts no glory!😱 Also, the "perfect" amount of thermal paste went on that regulator.

putting capacitors under a heatsink always seems like a bad idea, at least to me

If you use a heat gun, don't forget to use eye protection ... I do the last method, the same as you prefer 😄

Next time I try the "Let's do the Twist" Method! 😉👍🏻

I think it's the tips on the tweezers, ie, thin and long so poor heat conduction to the tips. What does a power meter say, like is it 2off 10W irons - lol -.

I'm surprised that twisting doesn't damage pads. It just seems like it would have the potential to do the most damage if they're already weak fron leaked fluid. But huh. If there's no damage then maybe I'll give it a try next time I mess with these. (I was doing "soldering iron to one leg while lifting gently enough to free the first leg, then go soldering iron the remaining leg to lift it away" method but I haven't done this loads of times so I'm not too invested in it or anything)

Why not replace them with Tantalium capacitors? I've heard it's the top of the line...

Thanks for the video! Do you know what the largest capacitor (C67) used for? I ask because I have an American SNES (NTSC) and that place on the PCB is empty. My SNES works except for the fact that the whole picture slowly scrolls in the vertical direction (wrapping from bottom of the screen back to the top). I already replaced the 6 caps near the AV port. I'll go ahead and replace all the others too. Got any other suggestions if that doesn't fix the video? Thanks again!

I got a cap kit for saturn and dreamcast from console5 sent to Aus. Was $30 aud for postage. Paid for the luxury to not sit on mouser and enter all the values lol.

Nice job, Mark! The twist method is also what I've had good success with on Bose Wave radios (similar construction to this game console). I've been warned that the method is dangerous on some hardware, like the Amiga 600. Hmm.

Is there a possibility HDMI Mod? I only see HDMI Mod for NES, N64, Sega already! But I don't see any HDMI mod video via Super Nintendo Entertainment System!

Wavy vertical lines might be caused by poor scart cable(not shielded adequate) and they are just power interference. (at least that what I would guess😅)

If you need cutters/pliers you are applying mechanical force, and if the tracks are compromised by the electrolyte you may just tear them off. But hey that could be made in to another video, good for views! Alternatives include - Use an RA flux (which is better on compromised solder joints) along with a small amount of low melt solder (but don't lower iron temp below what you want to use to melt lead solder) use either an standard or tweezer iron (gyrate without force while the solder melts so it mixes new and old the solder). Use braid to remove all solder once cap is removed. Use low melt solder paste (easiest to use) see above. These methods won't apply any physical stresses and because of the use of low melt solder will lower the thermal stress also. Most (not all) issues from using an iron and lifting a track is either the track was already done for, or heat dwell time due to either inexperience or a soldering iron not applying enough heat to effectively remove the component fast enough. Sorry no video as I'm not here to drum up some fake drama to bring more views.

what size solder are you using?

The thing about RGB and capacitors is false. The only video output not affected by bad capacitors is RF. That's why I tell people that if they get "No Signal" or the picture's all screwy, the first step to diagnose the problem is to try it with the RF. All video signals to the AV Multi-Out go through that bank of SMD caps.

With my snes easiest way was to use hot air and tweezers. And to be honest solder they used make it super simple😊

Gamebit?! My PAL SNES have simple Philips head screws out of box. I got mine with the Dounkey Kong Country bundle. As for the cap removal, i dont recomment any mechanical method, because you can damage the pads more easily, than the soldering iron method. For the soldering iron method just use chipquick.

Do whatever you want to get the caps off. I never rip them off, but please get yourself some MG Chemicals No Clean solder flux liquid.

Dragon 32 folder????? was there a tear in the fabric of reality that I missed.

I clean all flux off the board.

Title sreen: "Remvoing SMD Caps"? ..."removing" sounds better 😇

What I'd give to see the number of dislikes on this video... 🤣

You're not using flux (which will make removal a lot easier), you're putting undue stress on the board twisting the caps and you advocate using THT caps to replace SMD. So you're recrapping the board then. Gotcha!

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Just starting out at fixing a few old snes consoles I have, used your twist method successfully, thanks for the lesson 👍🏻