TIL that cheap solder wick is actually way worse than the good stuff

I was working on a crusty old motherboard from a 2008 Dell desktop at my shop in Akron... used that $2 wick from the bargain bin and it just would not pull the solder up, left a nasty residue. Picked up some name brand wick for $8 at the supply house and it soaked right up clean in one pass. Has anyone else noticed a huge difference between cheap and premium solder wick?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_mason121mo ago

Yeah that's been my experience too. I read somewhere that the cheap stuff is often just copper braid with no real flux coating, or they use some garbage flux that burns up way too fast. The good manufacturers spend time getting the flux formula right so it actually does what it's supposed to do. It's one of those things where the cheap version ends up costing you more in frustration and wasted time.

the_gray1mo ago

Gotta disagree a bit here (respectfully). I've been using the cheap spin on stuff from Amazon for years and it works fine as long as you keep it clean and trim the ends regularly. The flux coating thing is real but I think people overthink it - you can add your own flux to cheap braid if you want, or just get it hot enough that it flows. Most of my frustration with wick comes from using too much heat or not letting it fully melt the solder before pulling.