Soldering Question

[Joesavage1]

OhNo! My soldering iron came yesterday and it works well and is fairly good, but after i tested if it could melt the solder ive got after i turned it off i expected a quick cooldown time but it took longer than i expected and i accidently melted some plastic on the side on the tip, fairly high up. I dont know what to do!? Also should i wipe before i stop using, some people say you should wipe and then melt some solder to flux it and stop for oxidising!?!

Thanks

Joe

[Trumpkin]

some people say you should wipe and then melt some solder to flux it and stop for oxidising!?!

That's what I like to do. If you don't your tip will get nasty really fast.

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

I probably wouldnt worry about it too much. Especially if its only on the shaft and not the actual pointed solder tip. Just peel it off when the iron cools down. Always assume long cool down times. I actually wrap mine in an aluminum heatsink I have from an old motherboard to help it cool down faster and protect anything from touching the hot iron

If you don't your tip will get nasty really fast.

*whistles while walking away slowly*

[Joesavage1]

I probably wouldnt worry about it too much. Especially if its only on the shaft and not the actual pointed solder tip.

Yer its quite far up on the iron, its not right on the tip, so i guess it should be fine, i just got sorta worried as i just got it yesterday.
BTW all the $50 parts are so small! they look so big on the picture on the site lol.


Thanks

Joe

[frodo]

some people say you should wipe and then melt some solder to flux it and stop for oxidising!?!

That's what I like to do. If you don't your tip will get nasty really fast.

i never did that with my soldering iron and about a day later, my soldering iron tip had gone black and rusty. i thought it was broken but now i know that its oxidising. 

[Joesavage1]

now, the bit that you cant melt solder on is turning brown/black rusty colour, and if I burn too much on the tip the solder on that bit goes browny too. can some1 give me a standard procedure for before and after use; for now i have a box which is/almost is airtight, so ill keep it in their for the time being ;

Thanks

Joe

[frodo]

just cover the tip in solder until it has a thin layer of silvery stuff (solder) but don't leave a huge blob of solder on the tip.

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

Here joe, have a look at this:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=2944.0
Thats one soldering tutorial/information thingy thats really good. There was also another amazing soldering tutorial on here that someone found but I couldnt find it again lol

[Joesavage1]

ok, i  think the solder went brown sometimes cause i put too much on, but i still donno about the upper but?! is it because its metal but cant burn solder there so is inevitably oxidising?


Thanks

Joe

[Admin]

If your soldering iron is too hot, solder won't stick onto the iron. For example, lead-less solder won't stay on my iron if I go above ~480C.

Chips also have rated soldering temperatures (see the part datasheet).