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That tip about using flux on old solder joints changed my whole approach
A guy named Dave at the Milwaukee repair meetup told me to stop fighting cold joints on vintage boards and just hit them with fresh flux before even touching the iron. I spent 6 months reflowing the same old amplifier board three times before I tried it. Now I keep a flux pen in my kit and it saves me like 20 minutes per job. Has anyone else found a weird trick that totally changed how you work?
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brooke_murray2d ago
Fresh flux is a game changer for real. I used to keep scraping at old solder with a wick and it took forever. Now I just dab some flux on, hit it with the iron, and it flows like new. Saves so much hassle on those crusty 70s boards.
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jessica3312d ago
Man I just buy new boards when they get that crusty.
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quinn3412d ago
Fresh flux is a game changer" is an understatement - I've definitely been that person scraping at old solder like a fool (and burning my fingers in the process). @jessica331 I get why you'd just swap boards, but trust me, a little flux can make even the grossest old joint look almost new again. Still can't get my iron tip to stay clean for more than five minutes though, so maybe I'm not the best example.
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