If we're talking solder paste here, I doubt its a skill issue. Its super easy to grab a toothpick and pull out excess solder paste on a per-pad basis. Just do

If we're talking solder paste here, I doubt its a skill issue. Its super easy to grab a toothpick and pull out excess solder paste on a per-pad basis. Just do it before you heat the board up (solder paste is applied cold, so there's plenty of time to "correct" things if they look bad). The "problem" is that this whole exercise is an unnecessary waste of time in my experience. Just live with the excess solder and solder-wick it up at a later point. Swishing around a solder-wick is way easier than tooth-picking the solder-paste on each pad to the right size.