Desoldering braid (finely braided copper coated with flux) is an excellent product for removing solder. Simply heat the solder with your soldering iron until the solder reflows, touch the braid to the molten solder and in a few seconds the solder has “wicked” up the braid. Sounds good – until you realize that the copper braid is conducting the heat upward and your fingers are burning. To solve this you use much more braid than necessary simply to keep your fingers far enough away from the heat — wasted braid equals wasted money.