Best Way To Clean Solder Tip
Depending on your specific model of desoldering pump you might have to just turn the top.
Best way to clean solder tip. Take a wet sponge and rub it over the top of the solder iron. You also can clean your soldering iron tip with a sponge while using it to keep it clean. Now remove the tip and clean it with a moist sponge to remove the cleaner.
You can heat the screwdriver to clean off the solder. After trying both the sponge and flux to clean the tip of your soldering iron sal ammoniac would be the next step if the others didnt work. Your soldering iron is hot enough when some solder quickly melts on the tip which you should do anyway before starting.
Dedicated tip cleaning mesh is the best thing Ive found for that but the traditional damp sponge works fairly well. The solder tip will clean well on those edges. To clean tips oxidized due to using no-clean fluxes it is best to flush the tip several times with a rosin-activated flux-cored solder such as Kester 44.
How To Remove Old Solder. The flux in tip cleaner removes the oxidisation and build up from the soldering iron tip and then the solder re-tins the tip ready for use. Dont worry too much if the whole tip isnt nicely covered in solder.
Doing this first will take care of any mild buildup and help you discern in a safe way whether the tip is still too warm to touch with bare hands. Good soldering process is important. Then dip into the tin of tinner cleaner with a slight twisting action.
Brass wool is softer and less abrasive while the harder stainless steel wool has a longer life. Turn it off as soon as you have finished soldering. Use sulfur-free sponges made specifically for soldering as regular sponges will not remove the solder as efficiently.