Solder station vs. hot air rework, which do you reach for first now?

I used to grab my soldering iron for every flex cable repair, but after a bad ribbon connector job in 2022 that wrecked a sensor board, I switched to hot air for most flat cables. Now I only iron through-hole joints, and my success rate on reattaching those tiny connectors jumped way up. Anyone else made that switch, or do you still trust the iron for everything?

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the_ruby22d ago

I saw a repair video where the guy said hot air is basically cheating for flex cables because it spreads the heat so evenly, and honestly that clicked for me. The iron always felt like I was gambling on pressure and timing, one tiny slip and the pad lifts. Once I switched, those flat ribbon connectors just settle into place with flux and a little patience. I still keep the iron for through-hole stuff, but for anything with more than like 8 pins, the air gun wins every time now.