How To Prime A Soldering Iron Tip

Ad Compare a Huge Selection of Parts.

How to prime a soldering iron tip. A solder pot may also be used to tin or re-tin your soldering iron tip. This should lead to a clean shiny tip ready for use for more info see this video. This is done by first ensuring the tip is clean and free of surface oxides.

Clear a work area then grab your soldering iron a solder sponge and water. Hold the solder to the tip while its heating up to make sure you tin the tip before it has a chance to turn black. This helps remove impurities such as remnants of solder from previous projects grease oxidation etc.

If theres a stubborn piece of contaminant left on the tip you can use metal wool to gently scrape it off. This should leave the tip of the iron with a layer of solder on it. If the tip is a little too dirty you can apply a cleaning paste and a tip tinner.

Turn the solder pot on and allow it to achieve the desired temperature. Heat it up to around 350C and wait. The solder melts and should stick at the tip.

Be careful not to over-tighten the locking nut. Then slide the retaining nut over the tip and sleeve and tighten it using your hands. This step will coat the iron in a mixture of flux and solder.

There are screw type tips tips that screw onto or into the solder iron element slip on tips that slip over the element and plug type tips that slide inside of the element. Search Findchips and Save Today. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess.