I would suggest not using it. Great way to lift solder pads.

It is probably all the same. Even the Radio Shack garbage works fine.

True, about lifting traces if you are not experienced or have a bad soldering iron. If you over heat the pad or let the wick cool while attached it is big trouble.

But if you have a coil lug or something with a clump of solder and wire it is nice to wrap some braid on it and let it suck the mess right up.

Used properly, desoldering braid is OK. I prefer using my vacuum stations, but I do sometimes use a little braid under certain circumstances.

The stuff I'm using is from Radio Shack, whatever 'flavor' they sell. I got a bunch years ago when a few RS around me closed, and it was heavily discounted.

I agree with john that used properly it's as good as any other method. As far as the best, I find that most brands are light on the flux so I just use whatever is available and add flux.

By the way if you're lifting pads with desoldering braid try adding some flux. It will dramatically reduce the dwell time.

Save yourself a lot of frustration and get one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Solder-Sucker--desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG/ref=sr_1_1

You're doing it wrong! Either you have jammed the solder wick in a through hole or used too much heat if you have lifted pads/vias with solder wick.

Chemtronics is about the best. I also add liquid flux in many cases. Dried out wick is about useless, it needs to have flux in it to work correctly. Storing it in a ziplock bag will help it keep longer.

I've been in commercial electronics for 25 years and it is my "go to" in many cases. Learn all the methods so you can tackle any situation.

At first I never liked using braid, now I have a hard time desoldering without it. It is amazingly safe once you get used to it. Also, not all braid works the same. Oddly enough I've actually found radio shack's braid to be the best.

I've also had good luck using the desoldering braid from Radio Shack. I stopped using that desoldering pump because it had a tendency to lift the solder pads. They were just to strong and aggressive on older boards with small solder pads.

Probably. The last time I used braid on boardwork was about 8 years ago before I bought a pump de-soldering iron. Flux helped and even adding more solder to freshen it up so it wicks faster.

I just used a spring loaded solder sucker today to change out the large 4-prong diodes on the power supply board. So much better than my method of using my mouth and a straw.

I have a desoldering iron that I got from the shack many years ago. It has a bulb pump attached to the iron, looks like the old blood pressure cuff pumps. Works better than braid, but isn't very precise so not good on smaller repairs (like laptops and smartphones).

I use a desoldering station when at home but carry braid in my tool bag. I used to use Radio Shack brand but last few times I bought some, it was junk. I only buy Chemtronics braid now.