Yesterday I removed a small leadless IC with a thermal pad tied to four ground planes on a lead-free board. Even with a preheater and hot air, it took ages to get off the board. Since I was working under a microscope, I could only move my stainless tool so far away before I lost sight of it, and the air bouncing off the board heated it up. It got hot. This is my use case.
Yes, the technically correct, but more expensive answer is a bigger preheater.