Another use for the laser

[Doug Griffith]

Decapping electronics on PCBs. Essentially incinerating the glop-top to peek at what's underneath. Not to be done on anything you care about.

335406

Image care of Sparkfun Electronics.

[Dan Hintz]

If you just want to get rid of the soldermask, a dip in methylene chloride will take care of it in a hurry.