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.

Using Soldering Irons to Create Art

Soldering irons can be used to create art ranging from stained glass to sculpture. Choosing the right soldering tools for each project is essential, and variables include skill level, materials and desired results. Here we describe three of the most common ways to use soldering in art:

• Stained glass - Stained-glass artists use soldering irons to create everything from earrings to window-sized panels. This is a challenging skill to learn; it requires time and patience along with high-quality flux and at least a 100-watt soldering iron.
• Jewelry - Soldering irons can be used to shape jewelry and add stones, gems and detail work. The metals used in soldering jewelry require an open flame and temperatures of up to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit, so make sure your equipment is up to par before starting a jewelry project.
• Sculpture - Soldering is ideal for creating small wire or pipe sculptures and is useful for details on more heavy-duty metal pieces. A good eye for design is the most important element here, and creating a wire sculpture is possible with even the most basic soldering setup.

Soldering is easy to learn with some practice, and the range of art you can create is impressive. Different materials require different soldering tools, but a 100-watt iron can get you started on several fun projects.

Choosing the Right Soldering Irons for Music Instrument Repairs

Serious musicians need basic soldering skills. Learning simple soldering helps in countless situations—including building cables to suit your needs and changing pots and jacks. Soldering irons are especially useful in guitar repair, and they can save you a lot of money while extending the life of your instrument.

For basic guitar soldering and soldering on most other instruments, you’ll need a 30-watt iron and a smaller 15-watt iron. The 30-watt is good for inside an instrument’s body, and the 15-watt is tiny enough for detail work in stompboxes, PCBs and other tight spaces. A chisel tip is a good starting point and should serve you well for most work. As for flux, avoid the plumbing or paste flux you might have on hand already and invest in rosin-flux cored solder (60/40, lead/tin). This flux works like a charm on most instruments.

Once you’ve got the correct soldering irons and flux, consider getting some accessories to make your work easier. A soldering stand with an attached sponge will make cleaning and maintaining your iron and tip much simpler. Needle-nose pliers, a de-soldering pump, and a “third hand” is also invaluable for soldering jobs ranging from basic to expert. These parts aren’t necessary, though, and you can get started learning soldering for musical instruments with just a couple of irons and the right flux.

How Do Flux Remover Pens Work?

When soldering electronics and other metal components, applying flux can drastically improve the strength of the resulting joints. By absorbing impurities and stopping oxidization layers from separating bonding surfaces, fluxes serve crucial functions in electronics, stained glass and other projects.

Many fluxes and other acidic purifying agents have the undesirable drawback of being corrosive over long-term periods. The excess flux applied to a solder joint could potentially contribute to the degradation of a circuit board or component lead. Some inorganic fluxes even incorporate potentially harmful chemical compounds that may irritate skin or act as carcinogens upon inadvertent contact or ingestion.

While certain organically derived rosin fluxes are unlikely to cause too many problems, it's generally best to remove any excess flux from a board as soon as you're done soldering. To make the job easier, flux remover solutions contain special cleaners that neutralize the acids in flux without compromising a solder joint.

Larger PCB manufacturers often apply removers in big batches, but for the common hobbyist or individual professional, flux remover pens are usually the most economical option. Like many flux pens, these precision devices feature spongy tips that let users dispense appropriate quantities of flux remover by hand on a case by case basis. As a result, they're highly popular among those who work with SMD components, reflow ovens and rework stations.

Simple Soldering Projects for Beginners

If you want to become proficient at building computer boards, robots and other high-tech gadgets, you need to learn how to solder. Before moving ahead with anything else, invest in decent soldering supplies. Owning the right tools is just the tip of the iceberg, though. You must learn how to use those tools properly. If you don't have the time or means to get lessons, simple soldering projects are a great place to start.

In terms of convenience, the best way to get going in your soldering education is by investing in some ready-made kits. This eliminates the need to run around finding all the right components, and it gives you plenty of opportunities to practice soldering. Places like RadioShack sometimes carry such kits, but the best way to find a great selection for low prices is by going online. You can buy kits for all kinds of cool things, including robots and simple PCBs.

Another simple and affordable way to test old some soldering projects is by simply investing in an assortment of wires. You can then practice soldering them together in a number of ways to get a good feel for how the process works. The nice thing about this is that you can worry more about form than function. You'll want to move forward to more advanced projects later, though, to make sure your soldering produces effective results.