[photon_rancher]

1) board preheat. In a pinch, heat gun or old hairdryer. But ideally get a cheap ceramic one off amazon or something. Typically set it to 75C for delicate components. For sturdy boards i start there and if that still sucks you can usually go up to ~150C. Usually its the heating element or air temp not the board temp.

2) Flux and thin solder. Solder should contain flux too. Use solder paste whenever possible and keep it refrigerated when not in use as it dries out

3) you need a high wattage iron and usually a thicker tip with more heat capacity. A slightly higher temp helps a little, but the wattage helps it stay a consistent temperature from the start to end of the joint.

4) when designing boards use ENIG and not HASL

5) remove any old solder before attempting to add more to a joint (older than a day or two).

6) sometimes an air gun on a arm helps too on thick copper

7) get really good lighting with a mix of diffise and directional sources. Brighter than you’d think