How To Clean Dirty Soldering Iron Tip
A simple dab on the tip should do the job.
How to clean dirty soldering iron tip. Tinning in between sessions and after soldering. You should clean your tip after each use. To clean dirty surfaces and stains from the iron tip we highly recommend using a steel wool ball.
Cardboard works in a pinch. Install the prepared tip in your soldering iron. This should lead to a clean shiny tip ready for use.
Take a steel wool pad and dampen it slightly then scrub it over the irons tip. You also can clean your soldering iron tip with a sponge while using it to keep it clean. Leave it there until the paste melts around the tip.
If some of the oxides are just sticking really well you could try to mildly abrade them on a brass sponge copper braid or similar but you cant be too hard or you will damage the iron plating good tips are typically copper core plated with iron then chromium everywhere but the. Avoid using low-residue flux or dirty flux. If you do not regularly clean your solder iron you may have more stubborn stains or discoloration.
If the tip loses its tin you want a product called tinning salts or sal ammoniac to restore wettability then re-tin with your usual solder. To apply the tip cleaner first heat the soldering iron. 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.
Use stainless steel wool flux and thick clothe to clean the tip. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess. This works well if your tip hasnt been cleaned for a while.