Soldering Iron

Originally Posted by spinroch

I use the same soldering iron that Mechanic688 mentioned. For quick, higher heat applications, and especially for soldering on cars & trucks, I have used the Weller 140/100 Watt Soldering Gun for years. Between the iron & the gun, you will be good to go!

Agreed here, depends on your job or what your working on. Don't want to use a solder gun on a circuit board. If your doing rewiring outdoors then the gun might be better. One reason I liked the solder station was after my immediate job was done I could turn down the temp on the iron till I needed it again(let it idle), turn it back up and it was ready to go in less than a minute.
As far as wicking it depended on what I was working on. For circuit board work/repairs I usually used a good solder handheld sucker but if I was desoldering a coax connector or other large blob of solder then it was time for the wick and finish up with the sucker.
Commercial operations and large repair services used the vacuum solder pumps for removing large amounts or for a continual use.