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A customer at my shop in Tulsa taught me a trick for old TV capacitors
This older guy came in with a 1970s Zenith he wanted fixed, and he watched me work for a bit. When I got to the power supply, he just said, 'Try warming that big filter cap with your heat gun for 30 seconds before you pull it, the old solder joints get brittle.' I did, and the whole board came apart clean with no lifted pads. It was such a simple tip from someone who'd clearly been doing this forever. Anyone else have a good trick for dealing with old, crusty boards?
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danielr941mo ago
A little flux goes a long way on those old joints.
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quinn9681mo ago
That trick works on old car radio boards too.
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margaret_taylor421mo ago
My uncle used to restore 70s Corvettes, and he swore by that method. He'd keep a tiny bottle of liquid flux in his toolbox just for the radio and gauge cluster work. Said it was the only way to get the old solder to flow right without cooking the board. Those old fiberglass boards can't take much heat at all. You really have to let the flux do the work for you.
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