Even if you have been soldering for years, mistakes are still bound to happen every once in awhile. Whether its a misplaced component or the solder just doesn’t take, soldering mistakes are usually pretty easy to fix.
Soldering is pretty forgiving which makes it pretty easy to fix most any mistake you might make. If you apply a little too much solder or position a component incorrectly, you can reheat the joint, melt the solder and then reposition it correctly. Solder can be heated and cooled as many times as you need to get your joint properly fixed. If you don’t get the outcome you were trying for, don’t get discouraged, you can still end up with the results you want even if it takes you a couple of tries.
Desoldering is the process of removing solder at the joint to disconnect two items that have been soldered. Desoldering may become necessary if you want to replace a component that is defective, or if you want to change something about your design after it has already been soldered. To desolder wires you can usually just heat them up and pull them apart.
In the case of leads that are mounted through holes in a circuit board it takes a little more skill. When desoldering something delicate, its best to use a desoldering pump, which is a bulb that will absorb the molten solder and remove it from the joint. Soldering wicks or braided copper wire also work well to absorb unwanted solder.
