How To Clean Soldering Iron Tip At Home

Dont for instance wipe it off put it in the holder then leave it on over lunch.

How to clean soldering iron tip at home. Heat it up to around 350C and wait. How to Tin or Re-Tin Soldering Iron Tip. Heat your soldering iron up to the low end of a typical work range generally between 280 and 320C.

Leave it there until the paste melts around the tip. When pre-cleaning is necessary for plated tips they should be cleaned with a mildly abrasive emery cloth and may require an acid flux to remove the oxides before tinning or re-tinning. Tip Tinner copper is used to deoxidize and clean your soldering iron tip so that the solder can stick to the iron again.

Use only distilled or deionized water for cleaning sponges Use commercial tip tinners Use regular tap water on the cleaning sponge Use dirty or contaminated sponges. If theres krud building up that doesnt come off with the sponge wipe it on a cleaning wireIf the tip gets really bad it can often be restored with a chemical tip tinner. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess.

You will find that both a damp sponge and a wire cleaner will be effective for cleaning a tip. Use stainless steel wool flux and thick clothe to clean the tip. I use a Hakko iron and tips at work and mine has lasted about a year moderately light use maybe 5-6 projects.

Each time you clean the soldering iron and put it away apply a fresh solder to the tip. To apply the tip cleaner first heat the soldering iron. Wipe OFF the solder on the Cleaning Sponge or Copper Wool.

Keep the tip clean Keeping a tip clean is also a solid strategy to reduce oxidation. Like other posters have said to make the tip last longer leave a blob of solder on the tip when you are done. If it doesnt you need to remove all solder and grind the tip again more thoroughly.