How To Clean Soldering Iron Tip
If all else fails Soldering Iron tips do not last forever.
How to clean soldering iron 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. I use a Hakko iron and tips at work and mine has lasted about a year moderately light use maybe 5-6 projects. You can also use stainless steel pot scrubber as long as it is dry to prevent transmitting the heat.
Cover the tip with solder during idle time. How to Clean Soldering Iron Tip. Quickly insert hot soldering iron into coils of brass wool tip cleaner and twist it few times.
A solder pot may also be used to tin or re-tin your soldering iron tip. How to Tin or Re-Tin Soldering Iron Tip. Then dip the tip in the cleaner and do a slight twist action.
How to clean and re tin your soldering iron - YouTube. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess. Now remove the tip and clean it with a moist sponge to remove the cleaner.
Practice good tip care. Tinning in between sessions and after soldering. Flux is corrosive and causes damage to the tip.
Use stainless steel wool flux and thick clothe to clean the tip. This step will coat the iron in a mixture of flux and solder. If the iron tip is heavily oxidized then you should clean it with a different technique.