We are trying to undo our bad work, using the little vacuum thing and no clean solder wick but cannot get the pins to come out. Any help on how to melt the pins so we can move them? It’s a full row of 9 pins.
Hey there,
That one is really tricky, but there is a way!
Firstly you need to fix the board - either set up some little rig to hold it in place or ask someone to hold it for you.
Then heat up the soldering iron and go back and forth across all the pins - move from one side to the other very quickly so that all of the soldering pads get heated. At the same time, slowly pull the pins from below so that they can escape the grasp of the solder. 
It is not the easiest thing in the world, but doing it one by one is not the way in situations like these.
Keep me updated on the progress!
Robert
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What Robert suggests will work, but it’s possible to pull off a circuit trace that way. Alternatively, you can work from one end, cutting the plastic away, then heating up that pin and pulling it out. That sacrifices the connector, of course, but may preserve the circuit board.
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If you want the easy way, you can actually slip the plastic part of the pin headers off in one piece if you’re careful. Then it’s just a matter of desoldering the pins one at a time. Afterwords, it’s fairly easy to clean up the through holes and reassemble the pin headers.
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@bekahugs, did you manage to solve your issue?
If not, we can help you out and send you replacement parts. Please, get in touch via contact@circuitmess.com, we will help you out