Cheryl, Are you trying to remove fused solder or solder paste from the barrels? If fused, I caution an attempt to remove "all" of the solder, as the remaining Cu base metal might not be compatible with the press pins. Removal of excess solder would easily be accomplished with a hot air method. Total removal of the solder would most likely require drilling to remove the intermetalic layer (Sn,Pb,Cu alloy) which can be accomplished with a "bomb site" drill. Time consuming and somewhat risky, but it can be done. If it's solder paste in the hole, most likely it could be washed out, and should, since the flux remaining in the interface can cause serious problems down the road. Wiping the surface can compact the spheres into the hole and make washing impractical, so an adequate cleaning process must be utilized. Austin American Technologies makes an outstanding system for cleaning misprint boards and stencils called the "X-Cleaner". Please feel free to contact me offline to discuss this further if you like. Regards, Ed Popielarski QTA Machine 27291 Jardines Mission Viejo, Ca. 92692 Phone:949-581-6601 Fax: 949-218-7829 <------NEW! WWW.QTA.NET Be true to your work, your word, and your friends. Henry David Thoreau --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------