Diagnosing and Reparing Commodore 64s

Hello everyone, I was hoping for some definite direction in my endless quest to fix my C64. I don't have a lot of free time to work on this. So it is ongoing in many ways. Plus I am cautious about doing things that I know little about. Which can be good especially when you get people that give you conflicting advice. I do find a lot of helpful people on IRC, but you have to sort out what they are all telling you. I won't want to go and start buying all sorts of stuff and equipment without knowing why or then finding that I should have bought Y, when I bought X. I know a little. Bits and pieces here and there, but nothing that will give me confidence to just dive in. This is my quest to learn how to repair my C64: I started with my original C64 which I bought in 1987. I had left it in a garage for two years and then tried to use it and it didn't work. First I was told that I should clean my C64 with regular dish detergent and a hair dryer. I was told that this would solve many problems. Sounds unsafe, but I guess I will try it. Then I was told that I should buy another C64 since it isn't worth repairing them, since they are so plentifully available and cheap. So now I have many non-working ones. Then I need to replace chips that are bad, so I need to know how to solder and de-solder. Which kind of device to get ? There are different wattages and if you do it wrong then you burn up your boards (as a friend of mine did with more soldering experience did). Do I get a combination desolder sucker ? Or a little squeeze one ? Or a push and suck stick ? Do I get a soldering station ? A braider ? Too many different choices and combinations. I prefer something that will work and not damage my boards, and for desoldering, something that won't give me repetitive stress injury. Then I'm told to get a diagnostic cartridge for C64, which works well expect when the PLA chip is bad and there you can't see video. Then I should get a diagnostic harness, which works better, but again you need video. Then I find a Diagnose 64 cartridge which tells you which chips are bad very simply with LED lights, but they are hard to find. I'm borrowing one right now from a friend and figuring out how to use now. Then I'm told to get a multimeter, how do I use ? Which one to get ? I get one, then I'm told there is a better that could have been gotten for a little more money. Then I'm told to get a logic probe. Which one ? Again, how to use ? Then I'm told a logic probe is not as good as an oscilloscope. Which one ? How to use ? Then I'm told that I don't need an oscilloscope. Then I'm told to go to Ray Carlsen's site and that will have everything I need. http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/cbm.html. Which is very nice, but I'm a beginner and I don't need just a bunch of schematics and reference material. I need step by step method which explains which tools, techniques etc. that I need to do. Then I'm told that going to the Rob Clarke and Bil Herd workshop would give me everything that I need to know. It is good information, but not hands on. Jeff B