Cleaning solder iron tip

[psysc0rpi0n]

I have an Ersa i-Con Pico soldering station and a 102CDLF1.2 tip.

I've seen some youtube videos teaching how to clean and tin the iron tip. But I think I can't make it as clean as I see on those videos.

Usually I rub the iron tip on that copper sponge ball every 2 or 3 usages, I mean every 2 or 3 soldering actions. And when I put the iron away for the night I usually stick the iron tip into some solid rosin and power it off and let the rosin to go solid on the iron tip so that it gets coated by the rosin and be protected while I'm not using it.

And when I want/need to remove some component I always try to tin by sticking it to the solid rosin, applying some solder, shacking it off of the iron tip and rubbing the tip on that copper sponge ball but seems I can ever get that clean, smooth, flat shiny tip I see on youtube videos.

What am I doing wrong, eventually? I can post some pictures before and after this procedure so that you guys can tell me if the tip is in good conditions or not!

[IanB]

You should never need to clean and tin the iron tip other than the very first time you switch it on. After that it should stay smooth and shiny always unless you damage it by soldering something inappropriate (for example, using the tip to melt plastic or trying to solder aluminium will make the solder stop sticking to the tip).

When you first get the iron you should drown the tip in solder the very first time you switch it on. And then, when you have finished soldering, don't stick the tip in flux, just wipe it gently on a damp sponge and immediately cover it in solder before switching it off. Before next use, switch on the iron and wipe off the old solder to leave a shiny tip ready for soldering.

[psysc0rpi0n]

You should never need to clean and tin the iron tip other than the very first time you switch it on. After that it should stay smooth and shiny always unless you damage it by soldering something inappropriate (for example, using the tip to melt plastic or trying to solder aluminium will make the solder stop sticking to the tip).

When you first get the iron you should drown the tip in solder the very first time you switch it on. And then, when you have finished soldering, don't stick the tip in flux, just wipe it gently on a damp sponge and immediately cover it in solder before switching it off. Before next use, switch on the iron and wipe off the old solder to leave a shiny tip ready for soldering.

What I meant is that every 2 or 3 times I solder a wire or a component lead, I clean the tip on the wet sponge. I think this is recommended.

Then, sometimes, when I turn the station on, I stick the tip in solid rosin, then I melt some solder on the tip and wipe the tip on the wet sponge and repeat this twice or thrice or so to clean and re-tin the tip. But this procedure is done only once in a while.

[IanB]

What I meant is that every 2 or 3 times I solder a wire or a component lead, I clean the tip on the wet sponge. I think this is recommended.

If you clean the tip on a wet sponge you should immediately apply fresh solder to it.

Then, sometimes, when I turn the station on, I stick the tip in solid rosin, then I melt some solder on the tip and wipe the tip on the wet sponge and repeat this twice or thrice or so to clean and re-tin the tip. But this procedure is done only once in a while.

It should never be necessary to stick the tip in solid rosin. It is not a normal procedure when soldering.

When you turn the station on the tip will be coated in a thick layer of solder which you put there last time you turned the iron off. So when you turn the iron on that thick layer of solder will melt, you will wipe it off using a rag or something leaving behind a shiny surface, and then you will immediately apply a bit of fresh solder to this shiny surface and start soldering.

Just before you turn the iron off you will flood the tip with a big glob of solder to protect it until the next time you turn it on again.

[james_s]

I've never found it necessary to add solder to the tip once it's been tinned. Wiping it off on the wet sponge doesn't take all the solder off, it just smooths it out to a thin clean coat.

[sn4k3]

To much care will wear tip faster, like anything else

[KL27x]

I stick the tip in solid rosin, then I melt some solder on the tip

Does your solder come in a wire? Is there already flux in there? If anything, you want to melt the solder to the iron, first. Then if it doesn't wet the entire tip and leaves some cold spots, dip it in the rosin and then rub it on something like the sponge/wool.

If the entire tip wets where it is supposed to, don't clean it anymore with flux or sponge. If there's residue higher up on the chrome, that can be mostly removed with brass wool, but I find scraping with a brass tube will get it squeaky clean (not necessary; just esthetic). Just be careful to not break/flake the chrome plating where it ends.

It is normal for most tips to start turning color after long enough use at high enough heat. With my Hakko T18 tips, the chrome will eventually start turning dark bluish starting at the base and working towards the tip.

[psysc0rpi0n]

Yesterday I tried to melt some solder and turn off the station but the solder blob didn't cover the tip completely because it sat more to one side than to the other (it's a screw driver shape tip).
Even after I hold the iron vertically to try to avoid the blob to go only to one side, still it sat mostly on one side, therefore not covering the while tip.

See picture in the following link.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O4_7Lk1PmNFb27k4_jwu8f2nFLdkGDAK

[KL27x]

Tips do wear out, and if you over clean them, that can accelerate the wear.

Sometimes a spot wears out stops wetting because it's the spot that doesn't get used much/ever. The neglected spot is left dry and it oxidizes a bit. Depending how thick the iron layer on those Ersa tips, you might be able to bring it back with abrasion/buffing. But if it's not causing performance issues, you could just leave it alone.

[tooki]

The pictures aren’t that sharp but it looks like burnt rosin buildup to me. Stop dipping the tip in rosin, it’s not necessary. Just learn proper tip care.

Look at this video first:
https://youtu.be/Mvrw8FHjsW0


You might need to get a tip reactivator. But I think just proper cleaning and tinning should do it.

[psysc0rpi0n]

You guys seen the pictures? That was yesterday after trying to add a blob of solder to the tip. I think I need to show you guys the tip clean of solder and residues. Just the tip itself. I just tried again the blob and now it looks better. After dinner I'll take a couple more of pictures of the solder blob now!

[Ian.M]

A solder blob doesn't show us much as we cant tell if its wetted the tip uniformly.  As a one-off, to show us its actual surface condition, wipe as much solder off as possible, then put both sides of the tip on some desolder braid to remove any solder stuck in pitting, then switch off IMMEDIATELY, let cool, clean any flux off with IPA and a paper towel and photo the tip.   When you switch back on, you must keep rubbing flux cored solder on the tip till it starts to melt, and restore the normal solder coating as soon as possible.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tip is already FUBARed, but if the plating is sill intact it *may* be salvageable.

[alsetalokin4017]

I used to wipe my iron tips on a piece of denim (actually my blue jeans). Then I started using a damp sponge, since the sponge came with the new iron. Then I discovered the brass wire wool thing, and I've never looked back since. Stick the iron into the brass, withdraw a perfectly clean tip.

The plating on the tip can be restored, using any of several methods. I think you may even be able to buy a compound made for this purpose.

Here's something that might help:

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-your-worn-out-solder-tip/

[psysc0rpi0n]

A solder blob doesn't show us much as we cant tell if its wetted the tip uniformly.  As a one-off, to show us its actual surface condition, wipe as much solder off as possible, then put both sides of the tip on some desolder braid to remove any solder stuck in pitting, then switch off IMMEDIATELY, let cool, clean any flux off with IPA and a paper towel and photo the tip.   When you switch back on, you must keep rubbing flux cored solder on the tip till it starts to melt, and restore the normal solder coating as soon as possible.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tip is already FUBARed, but if the plating is sill intact it *may* be salvageable.

I'll do that when I have some charge on my proper camera! The other pictures were taken with my smartphone that despite it all should be able to do better close ups!

[psysc0rpi0n]

I used to wipe my iron tips on a piece of denim (actually my blue jeans). Then I started using a damp sponge, since the sponge came with the new iron. Then I discovered the brass wire wool thing, and I've never looked back since. Stick the iron into the brass, withdraw a perfectly clean tip.

The plating on the tip can be restored, using any of several methods. I think you may even be able to buy a compound made for this purpose.

Here's something that might help:

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-your-worn-out-solder-tip/

I appreciate the tips but last thing I'll do is sand paper my iron tips. I've already seen videos saying not to sand paper iron tips because it's an huge mistake!

[james_s]

It really shouldn't be a big deal, once the tip is tinned it should stay tinned without any added effort. Keep the temperature set to a sensible level and wipe it off on a wet sponge occasionally. I never have to re-tin the tip or do anything crazy like trying to sand it. I thing I got around 10 years of frequent use out of the first tip on my soldering station before it started to seriously erode.

[psysc0rpi0n]

Ok, this is the best I could do.I followed above instructions.
1 - Heat iron up.
2 - Clear it the best I could on the copper wool ball (copper or whatever is the material).
3 - Cleared it again on that desolder braid.
4 - Wiped it with isopropyl alcohol and kitchen paper towel.

These are the pictures I could take with my old Canon 450D (Rebel XSI).
I placed them on Google Drive so that their size could be kept and therefore more definition. EEVblog only allows attachments of about 2Mb.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O4_7Lk1PmNFb27k4_jwu8f2nFLdkGDAK

Edited;
I don't know why there is an attachment here! I got an error message when I was trying to add the pictures about attachments to be bigger than 2Mb.

[Ian.M]

That looks fine.  There's no sign of pitting, and now you've cleaned it, there isn't excessive flux buildup.   It might benefit from some vigorous brushing with a brass wire brush to remove any remaining spots of charred flux.

IMHO, simply stop dipping the tip in flux when you switch off.  Instead, wipe off excess solder on the brass turnings and retin immediately before switch off.

You probably also need to replace the brass turnings tip cleaner - it must be heavily contaminated with all the excess flux you've been using.  If you cant easily get a replacement, soak it in a jar of IPA or other dry denatured or industrial alcohol, or acetone, overnight to soften the flux residue, roll it on kitchen paper to dry it off, then rinse with more alcohol or acetone, rolling it on kitchen paper  until it doesn't leave any flux stains.  However that's a *LOT* of work and solvent so isn't worth doing if you can order a replacement brass cleaner for next day delivery, or even if you can find a local stockist for brass pot-cleaners (pan scourers) made of similar brass turnings.

If you want to try a damp sponge for routine tip cleaning, which may do a better job of removing excess flux buildup from your tip, either get the proper sort from your supplier or get a preferably undyed cellulose sponge, sold for domestic use, and wash out the plasticiser its saturated with to keep it soft in the packet with hot water + a drop of dish detergent.  To prevent mineral and contamination buildup, wash out the sponge daily with hot water, and press as much as possible of the water out against a flat surface before use.   If you live in a highly chlorinated or hard water area, you should use distilled or demineralised water to rinse the sponge after washing it and to moisten it during the day.

[tooki]

The tip looks great. Just follow the tip care in the Ersa video I showed above and you should be just fine!!


Ian.M, I thought it was desirable for the brass wool to contain flux?? So you wouldn’t want to deflux it with solvents. However, you’re probably right that it has lots of burnt flux residue in it. But I’d remove it mechanically, just by massaging and pulling the wool over a trash can to break off the larger bits. Then roll it back into a ball and stuff it back in. (I do this, gently, to remove solder bits from it.)

[Ian.M]

I suspect the O.P's dry tip cleaner is heavily contaminated with burnt rosin, and solder dross, and even if its totally defluxed will perform better than its current state.  0:38 in the Ersa video says the dry tip cleaner mustn't be dirty with "flux & oxides".   I suggested solvent defluxing as an emergency measure if replacement was impossible.   

One doesn't actually want the solder to wet the brass wool as that will lead to rapid deterioration of its brushing action so adding flux to it other than any that was originally applied by the manufacturer is likely to be counterproductive.   However if you want to try dusting it with finely powdered dry rosin, or wetting it with diluted rosin R or RMA liquid flux then drying it , please do report back if there is any noticeable difference in its cleaning performance.

[eKretz]

Tip looks pretty good to me. As the others have said, stop dunking it in flux all the time. You should be storing it with a good blob of solder on the tip, not buried in flux. Also put a little blob of solder on there even between joints if you have a delay of more than a couple minutes. When you're ready to make a joint, just wipe the tip on the brass wool or a sponge and apply a bit of fresh solder. Wipe on the brass wool or sponge between joints and if you have to wait for more than a couple minutes for a joint, add a little fresh solder to the tip until you're ready to make the joint.

Another thing to consider is what temperature you are setting the iron to.  Very high temps will quickly accelerate oxidation on a dry tip. Try to stick to 320°-350° C max.

[psysc0rpi0n]

Well, I've just read the latest posts.

In fact I have a lower quality sponge and it has some rosin residues and also some solder residues. I always wet it completely with water and then I squeeze it the most I can so that the sponge stays only barely moisted!
The brass wire sponge is the one that came with my soldering station and I think it's still in good conditions. I have shook it a couple of times and I'm not an every day solder guy. It's just a few times a week, at least until I finish my graduation. After that I might be a little bit more active, but I'll see it then.

Next friday I'll buy a proper sponge and maybe some container to rest it there and be able to use it without the need of being constantly holding the one I have in place because I have no proper place to have it secured!

Anyway, as of now, I'll follow the tips I see here.

[james_s]

I use a sponge I bought a package of for $1 at Dollar Tree. I cut a hole in the middle then trimmed it to fit the tray in my soldering station and it works fine. I wet it so it's nice and moist, not dripping all over but I don't squeeze it out either. It works just fine.

[KL27x]

I appreciate the tips but last thing I'll do is sand paper my iron tips. I've already seen videos saying not to sand paper iron tips because it's an huge mistake!

If the iron layer is oxidized and doesn't hold solder, those oxides have to be removed one way or another... IF you want that spot to wet, again. And mechanical removal is one of the best ways to do it.

There is a huge difference between different soldering iron tips. Some have only a very thin plating. Those should never be sanded with a rigid abrasive surface. But buffing with a soft material, like pencil eraser or cloth/leather with buffing compound might be ok if you keep away from chrome layer.

The iron layer on some irons is very thick and a new one could be filed quite a bit with a bastard file before you erode all the way through. The extra thickness is there so they last longer. Of course, you would want to remove as little good iron as possible. Sanding with fine grit paper might be perfectly fine. The paper goes up to 3k grit, ya know. But no matter how thick the iron layer, the chrome is typically very thin and can be damaged very easily. 

I have no idea what kind of tip the Ersa has. If the cold spot isn't affecting your soldering, then don't worry about it. If it is causing problem, then it doesn't work, anyway. Order a new one. And feel free to try w/e it takes.

The iron in the pic you posted looks like a cheapo iron that takes copper tips electroplated in a very thin iron layer. They do not last long no matter what you do to them.

** edit:
A lot of people like to cite the iron is just a plating over the copper. This is not necessarily true. One of the most popular soldering iron is Hakko 936/888. The iron shell is cast/molded. The copper is swaged into the shell with a bit of silver solder dust between. Then a second iron piece is pressed into the back. Then the tip is heated to ~1000C to melt the silver solder and fuse the 3 pieces together. The tip undergoes some machining of the outside of the tip for final dimension and smoothness/finish. The only part that is electroplated and super thin is the chrome layer, where solder doesn't stick. This is obvious if you ever cut one apart. And you can find Hakko patent info describing this process, albeit in more technical terminology and with a bit of vaguery.

[psysc0rpi0n]

KL27x, always good to know. Thanks for sharing that info!

About the sponge, I've seen somewhere that it should be wet just to the point when you use a kitchen paper napkin on it with small pressure and not water comes on the napkin. I think this might be due to avoid temperature shocks on the iron tip.

Will any kitchen sponge will do for this purpose other than the green (abrasive) ones?