Surface mount component soldering

I've acutally used a heat gun to remove smt components. It heats up a wide area and makes short work of heating up large ground planes. Just be sure to use the low setting, otherwise some of the components might fly off of the pcb.

Just be careful when using this method or a similar method. When the item is in its melted state, a simple sneeze can send components flying. Don't ask me how I know that.