Chemtronics Desoldering Braid, Chem-Wik, Rosin, 10-50L 0.10″, 50ft.

This has 50 feet of desoldering braid, which is more than most hobbyists or perhaps even some professionals will ever need in their lifetime. Most other desoldering braids sold here are only 10 feet.The braid comes in a 2-part plastic container. The two parts combine to become the round container pictured. You can easily pop open the parts just by pressing on the middle with your thumb. It’s not necessary to open it, but it’s the easiest way to get braid out of the roll. Sure, you can pull out more braid while the container is snapped closed, but that may cause the braid to get bent out of shape. I prefer the braid to be perfectly flat with no creases, so I open the container to get more braid as needed.This braid is quite hungry for solder. It glides smoothly across the PCB surface to “mop up” any excess solder. It can hold thick amounts of solder in a small segment of braid, and the solder naturally spreads to other parts of the braid as you heat it with the iron.The braid may leave behind a brown, sticky flux residue. This is especially likely to happen if you heat the braid for too long in a spot without much solder for it to absorb. The flux residue is more difficult to clean than the Amtech flux I am used to. The residue loosens once isopropyl alcohol is used, but I need to rub it with a cotton swab or toothbrush to effectively remove it. My understanding is that the thick, stubborn nature of this flux is what gives the desoldering braid its desirable solder-hungry performance. Just don’t use the braid in the same place for too long and the flux residue won’t be a problem.A mistake I made when learning how to desolder was using temperatures that are too high or too low. I normally have the soldering iron set to 300 degrees Celsius. When I need to desolder, I set the temperature to 350 degrees Celsius. The increase in temperature is necessary for effective desoldering, because the iron will not have direct contact with the PCB and the braid will spread and dissipate heat. Obviously, the temperature needed will vary depending on your soldering iron and other factors. If the braid is not sucking up solder, then you probably need to increase the temperature. Another mistake I made was removing the iron before removing the braid; if you do this, the braid will get stuck to the PCB, therefore you must remove both the iron and the braid at the same time.