Michael wrote:

Yes... I was having visions of getting the cap out then wondering,
which way is negative... :-D

Usually there's a circle printed on the board under each electrolytic
capacitor, and the negative side is filled in, but Asus and Asrock
boards are marked the opposite way, so the filled area indicates the
positive lead instead.

There are YouTube videos about soldering and desoldering, and
BadCaps.net has a lot of information and also sells high-quality
caps. I think they also have a YouTube video.

In my novice opinion, a mainboard made with leaded solder needs a 40W
iron to solder it, a 50W iron to desolder it, and lead-free boards
need even more power. But a regular 50W iron can overheat its tip and
turn it blue or oxidize it, which really hurts heat conduction. There
are adjustable power irons for as little as $10, but I've found that
cheap irons don't last long or don't deliver as much heat to the tip
as good irons of the same power rating. BTW if you buy one off Ebay,
check the voltage because many are made only for 220VAC. If you're
going to spend much at all on an iron, consider getting a temperature-
controlled, 70W Goot PX-201, about $50, which should be able to handle
about anything, and Goot is a quality brand. Temperature-controlled
is better than adjustable power. With any iron, a chisel tip, about
2mm - 2.5mm wide, works better than a conical tip, and tips are best
cleaned with curly brass hair or a damp paper towel, not a sponge.

Manual desoldering vacuums work best if you can hold them on one side
of the board and the iron on the other side and see both sides at
once. Vacuum bulbs don't suck nearly as well as spring plungers do,
but the latter can strike and damage board at the moment the spring is
released. Addng a short length of rubber tubing can prevent the
damage.

Copper desoldering braid works if it's the right width (enough to soak
up all the solder from the hole in one try but not more, generally
2-3mm and the iron puts out plenty of heat. Cut off the used portion
immediately after use so it won't absorb heat from the next joint.
Don't pull out a lead unless all of the solder from the hole has been
removed, and test by wiggling the lead side to side. Generally if all
the solder doesn't come out in one try, it's best to fill the hole
with 60/40 or 63/37 solder and start all over.

Chip Quik may be the easiest and safest way to desolder because it
melts at under 150F, but it costs about $1 per inch.

Radio Shack sells an $11 desoldering iron with a vacuum bulb, and
other sources have a similar tool that has a spring-loaded plunger
vacuum instead. The Radio Shack iron doesn't seem to deliver quite
enough heat to the tip for multilayer boards, but people have modified
it with a better vacuum pump or by wrapping heat insulation above the
tip.