Sanguinololu soldering FTDI - tinned or not?

I got a DIY Sanguinololu kit and I'm doing the FTDI soldering myself. This will be my first time doing a surface mount. On the wiki, it says the board used in the instructional video came pre tinned. Is there a way to know if mine is pre tinned or should I just try it to see if it is?

Thanks

It doesn't matter what finish the PCB has. The soldering technique is the same.

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theanimator Wrote:
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> I got a DIY Sanguinololu kit and I'm doing the
> FTDI soldering myself. This will be my first time
> doing a surface mount. On the wiki, it says the
> board used in the instructional video came pre
> tinned. Is there a way to know if mine is pre
> tinned or should I just try it to see if it is?

Post a picture then we can tell you... actually if the pads are silver it will be tinned, copper color if not.

Most commercial PCB houses will tin pads as standard. If it is a board you or a friend have etched/milled then it probably won't be tinned.

Tinning the pads isn't a pad idea, just apply a tiny amount of solder, you want to keep the pads fairly flat for soldering SMD devices. You can just run an iron over the pads with a soldering iron loaded with some solder. Solder wick is useful for removing excess solder.

Or just not bother as nophead said the soldering part is the same technique

Thanks for the answers. It appears mine should be tinned and ready to go