I have tried the $300+ hakko desoldering gun at my day job, and while it works well, I think the cheapie Tenma from parts express (
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=370-325) works just as well. The hole is kind of big, so it doesn't work well for tiny components though. It's worth the investment.
One trick I do if I have nothing but a soldering iron to work with, and I want to clean a hole out- stand the board up on end (lean it against something), heat up the pad from the bottom, then shoot through the hole from the top with a can of air (computer duster or whatever). This blows the hole out nice and clean
