How To Use Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner
A nice alternative to using a heat gun.
How to use soldering iron tip cleaner. Use of no clean fluxes and low-residue fluxes. To apply the tip cleaner first heat the soldering iron. Use of very small solder wire.
Turn it off as soon as you have finished soldering. Heat it up to around 350C and wait. These tips which have a kind of chisel look to them and are my personal favorite are also widely used in general purpose soldering much like the round B series tips.
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. Wipe OFF the solder on the Cleaning Sponge or Copper Wool. I use a Hakko iron and tips at work and mine has lasted about a year moderately light use maybe 5-6 projects.
Dont for instance wipe it off put it in the holder then leave it on over lunch. Try not to leave the iron sitting hot on the bench while not in use. A tip tinner and cleaning paste can be used to re-tinner your tip.
Use stainless steel wool flux and thick clothe to clean the tip. But cleaning is of course necessary especially for modern fine pitch soldering. The most modern professional solder stations have high power heaters and very tight control loops so they can quickly go into a reduced temperature tip-saving mode when idle and heat right back up again in the time the operator picks up the iron from the stand and applies to the work.
Both of these methods will help your soldering iron do its best work. How to clean and re tin your soldering iron - YouTube. You also can clean your soldering iron tip with a sponge while using it to keep it clean.