J-B Weld for repairing lifted pad

[philibuster]

hi all,
I have been attempting to repair a musical fidelity synthesis, and in the process of desoldering a multitude of components, I have found a few lifted pads. Some are only partially lifted, while others are completely lifted, held only by the trace. There are no breaks in the copper. It seems that the copper they used on these boards is VERY thin and desoldering causes rapid deterioration of the bond. Or, my desoldering skills are not up to snuff. I'm getting a variac in the mail on monday, so my 40W iron probably won't be too big of a problem any more.

At any rate, I was wondering if I could use J-B Weld to epoxy the pad back down. They say it's "non-conducting" and "withstands temperatures up to 500F" (from here: http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php). Anyway, is this a smart or a ill-concieved brain-child of mine? Thanks.

Also, any tips on desoldering without lifting pads and stuf would be great. I used a little sucker thing and some solder wick, but the solder wick just wicks the tinning right off my tip and it erodes. I'm also using lead-free solder of 96.5% Sn, 3% Ag, and .5% Cu, for my health and to say "I'm using lead free solder". I know i need higher temps for it, but I think my oversized iron is part of the problem. Thanks again.

[rabbitz]

I found just using the solder sucker was better than using a wick.

If it is a bit stubborn, a good idea is to add some solder onto the joint first using solder with lead (use it while it's still available), and then reheat and and whoosh with the sucker. This reduces the amount of heat that has to be applied.... less heat, less probs.

[pinkmouse]

When you remove components, it makes life a lot easier if you cut the leads off, and desolder them all seperately.

[philibuster]

Pinkmouse,
I agree with you. except, I didn't have the foresight to do that. whoops.

Sometimes, if I don't get enough solder off, I have to heat the leads as I pull the component off. That's probably what killed it. That, and the beast of a soldering iron tip I use. The thing is a canoe paddle...

So, I used the J-B Weld on all my lifted pads tonight. It's curing under the heat of a 60W lamp. Hopefully, I can solder to the pads again, or I'll be doing some point to point soldering on pretty high voltage components- ~60V. I think I need a bigger sucker. Mine only has about 2.5" of travel. I should just use a vacuum cleaner with a drinking straw...

I'll tell you all how the J-B Weld works out. Thanks for the input.