How Do You Clean A Dirty Soldering Iron Tip

A simple dab on the tip should do the job.

How do you clean a dirty soldering iron tip. Then dip into the tin of tinner cleaner with a slight twisting action. It consists of soft metal shavings that are coated with flux. This comes in a little pot that you push the tip into.

Tips To Avoid Oxidation. Once clean and shiny perform tinning and now your tool is ready to use. The flux in tip cleaner removes the oxidation and build up from the soldering iron tip and then the solder re-tins the tip ready for use.

Steps To Follow When Re Tinning Your Soldering Iron. To apply the tip cleaner first heat the soldering iron. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess.

Flood the tip with solder after cleaning to cover the entire working surface of the tip. By avoiding the thermal shock of touching a damp sponge these cleaners help to increase tip life and in our opinion do a better faster job. Electronix Express points out that in order to remove the dirt and debris that accumulates on the tip of a soldering iron it is necessary to wipe it clean with a sponge.

Put a good amount of solder on the tip when storing it or leaving it idle for any length of time. Then while it is cold dip it in paste and turn it on. Alternatively you can use a special polishing bar particularly of the tip is corroded or extremely dirty.

A trick I learned from an aerospace tech is to use a lot of solder when I clean the tip using the excess solder to almost flush off the tip. First you will want to heat the iron up to operating temperature and wipe the tip on a damp soldering sponge to gently clean it. This should lead to a clean shiny tip ready for use for more info see this video.