Keep a Quality Cleaner on Hand for Every Soldering Project

Cleaning and maintaining your soldering iron is important to keep it in proper working order for as long as possible. Keeping it clean and safe is easy, and just requires the right soldering cleaner and a little effort.

Tools You’ll Need to Keep Your Soldering Iron Clean

You’ll need a few things on hand to properly clean your soldering iron:

·    Sponge — By rubbing a wet sponge onto a hot soldering iron tip, it will cause the solder to contract at various rates to encourage any solder that might be stuck to the tip to come off.

·    Gritty Sandpaper — Use sandpaper only if you notice that the tip hasn’t been used properly by previous technicians. In this case, make sure to only use it on a soldering iron that’s been allowed to cool off, or you risk igniting the paper.

·    Tip Cleaner — Having a good-quality tip cleaner on hand, such as those provided by StellarTechnical.com, will help ensure the tip is properly cleaned and maintained at all times.

Cleaning or Tinning Your Soldering Iron

If the iron is still hot, you’ll notice “rosin” on the tips, which are simply brown deposits. Take your wet sponge and wipe it until the deposits are removed (make sure you are not directly holding the sponge for safety purposes). If the iron is cold, it might not heat up properly, which is where the gritty sandpaper comes in. Lightly scuff the tip using the sandpaper until you notice the tip regaining its luster again. All you’re doing is oxidizing the metal, not removing it.

Once the iron has been thoroughly cleaned, it’s a good idea to tin the tip. To do this, you’ll need a tinning compound, which is available at StellarTechnical.com. Just make sure that the soldering iron is set to a low temperature because you want the iron to be able to cool down rather quickly in order to avoid frying the solder onto the tip.

A well-maintained soldering iron will give you years of service, especially if it’s high quality. The type of soldering accessories and cleaners you use will help keep your iron in pristine condition for many years to come.