Just feel the need to chime in with my 2 cents. I used to teach a nuclear eletronics repair course. New to the MB worls, but electronics were my bag so:

1. The stuff on the board that looks like shelac is a conformal coating, designed to protect the board and circuit from moisture and atmosphere contaminants.

2. The "right" solder is eutectic. You can buy Sn63 at radio shack, it isn't much more expensive that 60/40 but for the novice is much easier to use. Sn63 has no plastic region, meaning that when you remove the heat, it instantly cools to a solid, no plastic region means no disturbed solder joint, fewer failures.

3. Please don't use a large solder gun with a trigger that buzzes when you squeeze it. Buy a 25 to 35 watt pencil tip iron, preferably with a three wire plug and grounded tip to protect circuitry. If you apply too much heat there are two damage modes. Measling is when you slightly overheat, leave white dots on the board around the joint, not pretty, but not a big deal. If you overheat and burn it to brown it will get brittle and can physicaly fail.

4. Technique - To resolder a jointfirst clean both sides of the board with rubbing alcohol and a acid brush (metal handles brush with 1/2 inch bristles). Fos most touch ups you don't need to add additional flux, the flux in the solder is sufficient. Warm the iron up to full temp, add a touch of solder to the iron tip to form a SMALL drop (known as a heat bridge), then touch the iron tip/drop to the joint/lead/board junction, the solder on the tip will make the heat transfer much better and will instantly make the joint melt. Count to three and remove the heat. After you've done all of the connections, again clean the junctions with alcohol. You can also clean the board with electonic cleaner as long as it is zero residue. The intent is to remove anly leftover flux which can attract moisture, and again cause failure. You can reapply a coat of conformal coating, a thin coat will do.

Summary, good solder, the right iron, a heat bridge, three seconds of heat, clean the board.

Thanks to those who've helped me out, hope to return the favor. Chuck.