Tefzel or Kynar for PCB mods ?

Tefzel strips easily, but the insulation isn't so rugged - tends to melt easily

Kynar can be interesting to strip, but will withstand a soldering iron touch etc

Sometimes 'enamel' (actually polyurethane) coated wire is the right thing to use, because you can tin the end without having to apply a force to strip it ! It is also easier to bend into an awkward corner. Obviously it is not as strong ...

Tack it down afterwards with hotmelt or cyano

Dave

I use PTFE wire. It doesn't melt and is a bit thicker than wire-wrap wire, making it less likely to break.

Leon

For chunky electronics (DIP ICs), Kynar wire (wire wrap gage 30 AWG) is what I use. It is fairly tollerant of short term touching with a soldering iron, comes in lots of colors, and is typically silver plated, so tinning is easy and thorough. If you avoid any sharp bends in the insulated section of the wire within about 3/8 of an inch from the end of the insulation, the heating of soldering does not tend to cause problems. If you do it any closer to the end of the insulation, it tends to split, revealing more un-insulated wire than you may want. A nice feature of Kynar is that it does not roll-back much when you are soldering.

For fine work around SOICs, SMT resistors and caps, and other finer detail boards, I would be lost without Tefzel wire. Among the most important issue of doing rework, is getting the wire the right length, and only stripping as much insulation as necessary. Tefzel wire may also be found as wire with Polyurethane insulation. Tefzel is the trade name for Polyurethane insulated wire. With care the insulation of Tefzel wire will vaporize when you place the tip of the wire into a fresh blob of solder on the end of your soldering iron. With care, by controling how much of the wire you place in the little pool of solder you can strip only as much insulation as you need. I regularly achieve stripping lengths below .030 inches. This also tins the wire. I use 36 AWG Tefzel Wire. You do need good ventilation and airflow over your work area, so you don't breath the vaporized insulation. Tefzel wire of this fine gage can be hard to come by. It used to be readilly available under the name VeroWire, and a google search will still find some vendors that sell it, mostly in Europe. Tefzel is also refered to as self-fluxing wire, since the vaporizing Polyurethane acts as a flux (but not as good as rosin). You may also find it as magnet wire with Polyurethane insulation.

Other toys that I have found are a MUST-HAVE for rework:

Tweezers (#6) Metcal Soldering iron system Stereo 10X microscope with boom arm Rosin flux in ethyl-alcohol solution .015 inch dia rosin core solder 63/37 Chip-Quik Scalpel with replaceable blades. #11 is my favorite Sharp pointy stick (dental probe)

?Ref=121978&Row=339335&Site=US

?Ref=123176&Row=75397&Site=US

Item CDT0279 £10.47 worth will last a very long time if just used fro rework.

Philip Freidin

Philip Freidin Fliptronics

All that you say about self-fluxing polyurethane wire and all the rest I have no problem with. However, to the best of my knowledge, Tefzel is not polyurethane:

Pete Harrison