O.k. i have been soldering since, gosh i was little. But now i am seeing soldering with paste!!! Anyone use it? It seems so wild to just see the component settle into place! And clean too And without scorching! I really need to try this! The youtubes really speak to my inner child!!! 
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Works great! Just make sure youāre using paste intended for electronics and NOT one intended for plumbing. Plumbing flux is acid based and over time can cause corrosion problems
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@Rocco85 , are you using a solder rework air gun or baking in an oven? Also, are you just brushing it on or did you make a solder mask? Iāve always wanted to play with this too.
Inivtation to a rabbit hole - I find Stephen Hawes enthusiasm infectious.
On his YouTube channel, heās documented the process of developing an open-source pick-and-place machine from a solo project to a fully staffed business - Opulo where they manufacture and sell the LumenPnP.
Heās recently been working on a solder paste dispenser head that rides right along the pick-and-place head. Heās hoping to cut out the solder paste stencil portion of the process.
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Looks lik i have seen a couple of his videos! Neat stuff!
I havenāt done a solder mask/solder paste setup like the professionals do. I have used solder paste on surface mount chips (even without a mask, donāt hate me). With a good solder mask built into the PCB, the solder āwantsā to go to the right place and it just requires a little rework.
I havenāt used it at all at home. But if I was making more than a couple, a full oven and mask would be pretty cool. A PnP machine would be awesome too.
I met Stephen at Open Sauce and he is just as nice and enthusiastic as he seems.
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Christian KnĆ¼ll built a machine that can place the chips etc. automatically:
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