Author Topic: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts  (Read 4658 times)

Davion_Boy_74

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Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« on: 02 February 2011, 02:21:15 »
I need some advice, how do I remove soldered on parts, on old lead minis without destroying or damagering said parts ?.

I guess it going to be a solder iron ?.

I've just gotten 2 old lead minis off e-Bay a Griffen & a Shadowhawk parts are soldered on and before I risk putting a soldering iron near them I thought I would ask (the obvious) question.

I must point out that I've never ever used a "soldering method" to put together any Battletech minis I always have used "super glue".

Thanks in advance.

Dave.

Mastergunz

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #1 on: 02 February 2011, 03:05:48 »
Ok, so here is what you do. First I want it known that I am not responsible for the possible resulting damage however unlikely.  ;)

Solder typically melts at around 90-180 degrees F. Lead melts closer to 240-370 degrees F. So theoretically with an adjustable soldering iron you should be able to dial in around 180 degrees F and be ok. Without knowing what the Tin content of lead mini's is makes this guess work at best. You could also try a bic lighter and see if that softens it up enough to work the parts loose..... just be careful.

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Davion_Boy_74

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #2 on: 02 February 2011, 03:14:23 »
Thank You for the Good advice  [rockon]....I of Course I do not hold you or anyone to blame if I "mess" things up  :'(  [tickedoff]  ;D

Dave.

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #3 on: 02 February 2011, 03:28:11 »
How about using a Jewlers Saw and a metal file to clean it up. No heat needed.
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Davion_Boy_74

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #4 on: 02 February 2011, 03:35:03 »
How about using a Jewlers Saw and a metal file to clean it up. No heat needed.

With my luck I would do loads more harm than good, the parts to 'remove' are backpack(s), lrm tube(s) & hand / arm weapons on the Griffen & shadowhawk, not much room for the saw blade to get in to.

Thanks for the Great idea though  [notworthy].

Dave.

Jal Phoenix

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #5 on: 02 February 2011, 10:06:17 »
I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that you did not get minis with soldered on parts, but fake minis that are cast as one piece.  They are probably not made of lead, but whatever metal the faker is using these days, and taking a torch to them will destroy them utterly, because the metal will all have the same melting point. 

TheMaster1955

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #6 on: 02 February 2011, 10:58:36 »
There is a braided metal  wire/tape. it is used to remove solder from circuts. It's name eludes me but radio shack should carrie it in the soldering tools section. What you do is find the temp you need to melt the solder and not the fig, flux the tape, place between solder to be removed and the iron. it will draw the solder out.  The job may be impossible but that's the way to do it.  [drool] Good luck :)
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Stingray

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #7 on: 02 February 2011, 11:03:01 »
I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that you did not get minis with soldered on parts, but fake minis that are cast as one piece.  They are probably not made of lead, but whatever metal the faker is using these days, and taking a torch to them will destroy them utterly, because the metal will all have the same melting point.

That is my guess as well... honestly unless someone just got pissed off to an extreme degree at their miniatures there would be NO reason to solder them. Too much risk and extra time required IMHO (not that I know much about soldering).

Ebay is full of fakes and I know recently there has been several posted by Dave the toymaker (if the name didn't give it away not sure what would), and tigeracer (or something like that). I will leave it at that ... if I continue on I'm sure I'll cause a fake debate which I believe is not allowed on the forum. I'll just say I don't support fakes (that is the kind way of saying it).

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #8 on: 02 February 2011, 11:06:05 »
If the original is a well soldered model then I seriously doubt you will be able to unsolder it, because my understanding of soldering whitemetal is that the joint is melded into both halves of the originals being joined together.

I would therefore suggest cutting is your only realistic option for getting the models into pieces, but I would have to ask why you would want to do this in the first place? Soldered joints are like solid pieces, and if reposing is your aim then cutting is your game.  :-X
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Davion_Boy_74

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #9 on: 02 February 2011, 11:39:50 »
I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that you did not get minis with soldered on parts, but fake minis that are cast as one piece.  They are probably not made of lead, but whatever metal the faker is using these days, and taking a torch to them will destroy them utterly, because the metal will all have the same melting point.

From what I'm seeing it is solder I have seen "fake" minis & I know what you mean, these 2 are originals with bigish blobs of solder holding on the parts, Though I will be careful & try to remove some (solder) in a area where no much damage will occur.  Thanks for the advice.

Dave.

Davion_Boy_74

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #10 on: 02 February 2011, 11:47:01 »
Thanks for all the tips & Advice,

TheMaster1955 : I know what you mean by the bradied wire - Solder Wick (?) I have used it many years ago in a job long since left,

Stingray : Yeah I have seen the "fakes" you have mentioned & I stear way clear of them, these 2 I want to repair have had the bases removed BUT before any one says that is a shore fire way of hiding a fake from a original ...I don't know to be honest I'm going by a gut feeling and I think they are originals.

Paint it Pink : You may be correct & I may have to cut them up to repose them, I'll let you know how it goes.

Thank You All.

Dave.

Stingray

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #11 on: 02 February 2011, 12:11:52 »
From what I'm seeing it is solder I have seen "fake" minis & I know what you mean, these 2 are originals with bigish blobs of solder holding on the parts, Though I will be careful & try to remove some (solder) in a area where no much damage will occur.  Thanks for the advice.

Dave.

Well the big blobs does make them sound less like your standard fakes so you might be good to go.... now my question is why solder? Good luck with removing it I wish I could give advice but I don't know anything about soldering. I hope you can get it fixed would hate to have 2 nice miniatures damaged by some silly method of assembly.

Tiki Monkey

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #12 on: 02 February 2011, 22:14:40 »
Could what you see be a type of liquid solder? I know a guy who used this to put mini's together years ago. You may want to try putting a little acetone on one of the blobs to see if this will dissolve it, before you bring in the heat.
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ShadowRaven

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #13 on: 02 February 2011, 22:23:52 »
Is it solder or something akin to JB Weld?  I would suggest takeing an exacto knife and scratch a piece, solder should, in my experience scratch deep and easilly.
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Paint it Pink

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #14 on: 03 February 2011, 09:24:13 »
having re-read the bit about the blobby solder joints, i now think you may have a fighting chance of effectively separating the pieces, and I would be interested in hearing about your progress on this project.
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Paladin1

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Re: Help need ..how do I remove soldered on parts
« Reply #15 on: 03 February 2011, 10:03:47 »
Could what you see be a type of liquid solder? I know a guy who used this to put mini's together years ago. You may want to try putting a little acetone on one of the blobs to see if this will dissolve it, before you bring in the heat.
I agree with Tiki Monkey, this sounds like JB Weld or something similar.  If you've got a blob of solder, it means that the person using it didn't heat the receiving pieces correctly and it didn't form a correct bond.  That bond would be easily broken, which I take from your request for advice that it isn't.

Finally, if this is actually solder, you should see some flux residue around the edges, especially if this is a poor soldering job.  If there's a yellowish or even amber looking substance around the edges of the blob, it's solder.  If not, you've either got some other kind of joining compound or fluxless solder, which is a whole different type of a PITA.

Let me know what you find, I've worked as a electronics tech on and off for about 20 years now so I may be able to help you with the mess if it actually is solder of some sort.

Also, last but not least, make sure what this stuff is before you break out the solder wick.  That stuff turns into an awful mess if you try using it to remove other types of bonds.