I have used the RS solder paste. I think they call it bearing
paste. It works okay for larger items, but tends to ball up alot.
The little balls of solder then go all over the board and find homes
where you dont want them (ie between IC pins). It was easy to work
with but the size of the solder "balls" in the paste are too large
to do fine surface mount stuff with. The real surface mount paste
that we use has a much much finer solder ball diameter in the flux.
I hope that made helps.
Matt
--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "kilocycles" <kilocycles@...>
wrote:
>
> Yeah, well I bought the heat gun primarily because I was tired of
> charring my heat shrink over wire connections (and burning my
fingers
> with a butane lighter). That, and the fact that my pro painter
wife
> can use it for stripping. Paint, that is.
>
> As long as nothing is left behind but solder after cleaning the
board,
> the plumbers' paste sounds ok...I'll certainly give it try.
>
> Changing the subject ever so slightly, I bought a tube of Radio
Shack
> solder paste, and they don't say exactly what it's supposed to be
used
> for. I've been told it's not suitable for use as an SMD paste;
it's
> about 1/10 the price. I was thinking of trying it first to make
the
> solder joints in copper boxes used a compartments in my ham radio
> projects. Any experience with the Radio Shack stuff?
>
> Ted
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
> <stefan_trethan@> wrote:
> >
> > It's washed off after tinning so the acid flux is not a problem
> (remember
> > the board was immersed in a pretty nasty etchant not long ago).
> >
> >
> > If you buy a heatgun, you really want a temperature controlled
one
> (closed
> > loop). I had a cheap one, and now a good steinel with temperature
> display,
> > and the difference is stunning. Costs like 10 times as much
though,
> but
> > is about 100 times as useful..
> > For PCB tinning alone you might get away with the cheap one,
since
> you are
> > not using different nozzle attachments and you can work out a
suitable
> > distance once and then stick with it.
> >
> > ST
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 09 May 2006 03:21:30 +0200, kilocycles <kilocycles@>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Myc,
> > >
> > > What's in that plumbers' paste? Nothing that will react with
the
> > >
> > > electronic connections (like acid flux copper pipe solder) I
presume?
> > >
> > >
> > > I bought a 1500 Watt heat gun on sale at Harbor Freight for
$12, and I
> > >
> > > think that might get it hot enough.
> ---snip---
>