AMPEG B2R(DISCONTINUED) MODEL-SOLDERING POTS

[TRAPO]

HELLO Y'ALL, I AM NEW TO THIS, BUT HAVE GOTTEN REALLY GOOD ADVICE AND/OR SUGGESTIONS TO QUESTIONS I MAY HAVE THAT OTHERS DO AS WELL. SO I DECIDED TO JOIN... LONG STORY SHORT, HERE I AM!!!

NOW, MY SITUATION. I HAVE AN AMPEG B2R(DISCONTINUED MODEL) THAT NEEDS SOME SOLDERING OF NEW POTS. MY AMP IS 16 YEARS YOUNG, THIS FROM THE DATE I PURCHASED IT, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS LOST! BUT, I FOUND IT! AND IT NEEDS SOME TLC... I PLUGGED IT INTO MY MESA BOOGIE 2X15 POWERHOUSE, AND MAN, IT NEARLY BLEW THE ROOF OFF!!! I WAS SURPRISED IT STILL WORKS AND SOUNDED THAT POWERFUL!!! AFTER 3 MONTHS OF SEARCHING FOR THE PARTS, I FINALLY FOUND THEM ON WWW.FLIPTOPS.NET. THIS SITE HAS ABOUT 99.9% OF AMPEG PARTS FOR ALMOST NEARLY ANY MODEL!!! HECK, I FOUND THE PARTS FOR MINE, =)... (JUST ORDERED THE PARTS, WILL POST ONCE I RECEIVE TO GIVE REVIEW OF WEBSITE)

HERE'S MY QUESTION:
IS THERE A CERTAIN TYPE OF SOLDERING WIRE I NEED TO USE? I'VE NEVER SOLDERED INTO A CHIP BOARD BEFORE, SO I'M NOT SURE.
ALSO, IS THERE A CERTAIN TYPE OF SOLDERING GUN, OR TIP, THAT ANYONE CAN RECOMMEND???
I NEED TO SWITCH OUT 3 POTS, AND 2 EQ SLIDE POTS...
AND LAST ONE, VERY IMPORTANT, HOW CAN I REMOVE THE OLD POTS??? (STILL SOLDERED IN)

PLEASE ADVISE, ANY ONE!!!!!!!!!!
GRACIAS
TRAPO

"THRU MUSIC, WE CAN LIVE FOREVER!!!"

[beans-on-toast]

First of all, how do you know that you need to replace these parts. Normally, the first step is to clean and lubricate the pots and sliders with a product like this one called Deoxit. Changing these components should be a last resort.

Radio Shack sells a nice resin core solder that is lead, tin and silver based.

It is importance with boards like your to not apply too much heat. You have to be very careful. It can damage the board by lidting the circuit board traces and damage components. Do not use a soldering gun. They are usually too hot. Ideally you should use a low wattage iron, 25-40W, with a pencil tip. The pencil tip allows you to apply the heat just where you want it. An iron with an adjustable temperature is nice but they can be expensive. You might also need a vacuum desoldering pump,solder wick, and solder flux. Talk to the guy at RS and see what they recommend. They have a sale on soldering stuff that ends today.