I have some desoldering braid which is supposed to assist in removing solder from circuit boards by using capillary action to wick the solder away from a soldered joint.
It never worked.
Maybe there were some instructions which I should have received (or kept); anyway instead of the solder 'wetting' the copper and spreading along the braid, which is what I assume is supposed to happen, it barely penetrated it at all.
Maybe I needed a much bigger and hotter iron for desoldering than I would use to solder.
Maybe the copper has become too oxidised after long disuse; I don't know how old it was when I got it, and now it's years older.
I've now got some SMD devices to remove/fit (alas) so having braid that works may become important. Apparently the suction tool I used to use on larger components isn't so good at removing solder from these tiny new parts.
Is one supposed to treat the braid in some way? Soak it in a suitable flux? Or just buy some new pre-treated variety ?