Newbie seeking advice...

[Fatmarley]

I find that desolder braid works fine if you add a touch of resin cored solder to the joint as if you're soldering it rather than de-soldering it. The flux helps wet the braid allowing it to be wicked up the braid.

I wonder if adding flux to the braid would help?
Is the stuff plumbers use the same?

 

[a.palfreyman]

No, plumbers flux is active / acidic and will eat copper if left in-situ. You can get flux pens for electronic work.

 

[garyi]

Can someone link to the right flux to use? The stuff I see on YouTube is liquid but most seems to be pastes and I don’t know how to use that

 

[a.palfreyman]

Just put 'rosin flux pen' into eBay or Amazon.

 

[Puffin]

For smaller caps I just use my snips to cut through the body and pull the top off leaving the legs attached to the board and then solder the new caps legs to what is sticking up. Doesn't look as neat as removing, but once the lid is on............... Larger caps don't seem to be such a paibn to remove, especially the snap in type. I find that heating each solder pad where each leg protrudes and gently lifting each side against the other does the trick.