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Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

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    Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

    Hi Guys i know Solder Paste is generally used in Surface Mount technology & Reballing but could it be also used for general Soldering ie. Power Jack on Laptop Motherboard, is there any advantage/ disadvantage to using the Paste?, i'm waiting on replacement tips for my Soldering Station, should have them midweek but have a fairly urgent Power Jack repair to do and have access to Paste and a Hot Air Station, can also borrow an Iron from a friend if its a better option, thanks in advance

    #2
    Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

    it should work, but it's an expensive messy option.

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      #3
      Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

      I've used paste as an experiment to attach a couple of micro USB connectors.
      It was a little tricky to judge the correct amount of paste as it shrinks and I had to be careful that the hot air didn't melt the plastic. It went ok though.
      Give it a go, if it messes up you can always remove it with hot air and try with the iron.
      As stj says the main downside is expense, it can also be a little messy if in a tub but mine is in a syringe with a needle and not to bad to control.

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        #4
        Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

        Thanks for that guys, feel a bit more confident now

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          #5
          Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

          Paste can work well, but the one problem I've found is that if it spreads away from the work and doesn't completely flow, you now have oddly conductive solder granules floating around your PCB to clean up.

          So, you have to be careful not to be a messy slob like I was, or else you'll have an annoying and potentially dangerous mess to clean up - just a friendly reminder. Aside from this gotcha, paste can be really nice to work with.

          Along these lines, how do people who use paste a lot dispense it? I've used it with a squeegee and stencil for reflow boards, but for freehand, using a cut down Q tip or toothpick is pretty iffy. Manual syringes can be OK, but controlling the amount of paste is also iffy.

          I've seen machines that will deposit a controlled size 'dot' but I don't have a shop compressor, and wonder if there are any other nice ways to dispense paste.

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            #6
            Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

            if you need a very small compressor, the pump in the "blood pressure" cuffs is pretty damned powerfull.

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              #7
              Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

              I was wondering why I bought a junk electronic blood pressure measurement machine... I was initially thinking about the pressure transducer for pressure experiments, but never thought about the pump...

              Granted the pump might not be as powerful as one would think because the cuff has very high surface area (kind of how a small hand pump will eventually pump up a large tire, it just takes forever...)

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                #8
                Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

                but it can build the pressure, that's the thing - it has the grunt to inflate a balloon!

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                  #9
                  Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

                  Tanx for the tip with the Blood Pressure Compressor stj, look forward to trying that out soon, i completed the job fine with the paste and Hot Air gun, no probs at all, i used only a small flow of air as i was afraid of blowing the paste all over the board, melted very quickly and wow what lovely shiny Solder joints, lol, was also concerned that joint might not be as strong as normal solder but concerns soon disappeared, many thanks again one and all your excellent help.

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                    #10
                    Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

                    Hello, as we all know that solder is used for creating a bond between metal workpieces. Generally solder comes in two types, i.e. wire and paste solder. The specialty of wire solder is that it stays where you place it, allowing more control over where it flows when heated. But on the other hand, paste solder is more difficult to control and has a tendency to flow all over the place, resulting in a messy solder join. Hence, it is not durable as compared to wire solder. Therefore, I would recommend you to use wire solder prior to paste solder.

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                      #11
                      Re: Solder Wire v Solder Paste?

                      I would not recommend solder paste as a option for general reworking / replacing of through hole components, while in theory there is no reason it would not work you are a making lot of work for yourself.

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