soldering iron tips that are more resistant to fluxes? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 10:46:47 am
content: For soldering non standard stuff with flux that is nasty, are there perhaps some soldering iron tip coatings or types that are a bit more durable?I have a indium soldering flux and aluminum soldering flux which get a soldering iron tip extremely nasty. Last time I tried I spent a long time trying to clean it... I had to scrape it all with the weller soldering iron cleaner stone, then do multiple dips in tinner and probobly do more scraping. It has this problem where it looks clean but as soon as you use it, tons of dark spots appear (so it tinned over fouling). If you keep cleaning it eventually it gets normal. Some how it tins over residues from these fluxes.Are there some options for this.. particularly when you won't be soldering electronics that need a great performance tip (i.e. fine parts soldering or advanced techniques like drag soldering) that have more robustness?I have seen someone with a cheap as shit iron tip that looked like maybe it was made out of nickel.I wanted to try stainless soldering too. I assume the tip will be horrific after this.Even with a dedicated tip, I like to start with clean tools. And its not easy to get it clean. If you start with some rank stuff it feels like a hackjob.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 11:09:06 am
content: Simple: Have two or three sets of tips.So much is missing. What's in those fluxes? NH4Cl, HCl, or ZnCl2? Any nitrates? What's a Kester cleaning "stone?" Is it this:https://www.ebay.com/itm/293205745993That's ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) that decomposes to ammonia and HCl. It's sold as a "tinning" block.Electronic soldering fluxes typically have very little, if any halogens as activators (Kester 44 had a little bromide). So, just get tips for each class of flux.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 12:02:12 pm
content: I am asking if there is something that is more robust and perhaps slightly worse at soldering I can use instead.Finding a better cleaner might be another option if something more durable as the iron is not available.This feels like a case of wrong tool for the job. The electronics industry soldering iron tip might just not be up to the task. I don't think they are built with the intention of being used with these sorts of fluxes and its a 'hack'. Some other kind of tip material might be an option. I don't know how far you can get from the conventional tip before it becomes unusable (i.e. different materials). A regular soldering iron is very optimized to work specifically with sensitive electronics parts (fast heat conduction). Perhaps its as simple as extra thick plating that might make it less desirable for normal soldering but better at withstanding stronger fluxes, or some additive to the plating (I found plating mixtures as unique as iron-palladium) that would not make sense with regular rosin in mind.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 08:54:30 pm
content: and I don't know what it is, tip tinner and a weller brand plastic/rubber abrasive stone partThe tip tinner is smells like some kind of ammonia flux mixed with tin solder when you use it.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 10:52:16 pm
content: Did you bother to look at the SDS? Smells like ammonia when you heat it is a clue.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2025, 11:05:41 pm
content: I am looking to find out if some more robust tip exists not how to clean them better.they have zero problems with electronics flux and many problems with weird fluxes. The electronics tip is the wrong tool for the job.If it was good, you would be able to clean it on the damp sponge or brass wool and only need to use the tinner and scraper on rare occasions. They get basically destroyed after a single use. even if you have a spare tip just for this purpose, you need to go through this whacko cleaning procedure every time. A good tool for the job would last longer and clean easier. At the very least its completely inconvenient.there might be a different coating thats pointless or too expenisve to justify for electronics solder but makes sense for different soldering. Some how I am thinking iron might not be the end all for all things soldering.with PVD or ionic liquid plating they can basically put anything on anything.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2025, 09:03:54 pm
content: - Soldering gun style tips can be had for <$1 eachhttps://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006034651939.htmlor just use solid wire- T12 or T245 tips as little as $2-3 each- Tip could be attempted to be wrapped in aluminum foil or stainless foil- Use hot air instead of soldering iron

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2025, 09:37:50 pm
content: There are various tips made for high temperature and strong flux used in the jewelry trade to "solder" gold and platinum. If it's just the flux and not temperature, tinners have used copper irons for centuries. Just get a second set of tips for those fluxes, but then, I repeat myself. I actually keep a set for lead free, that I very rarely use. (I don't use Pace stuff.) Even Pace-branded tips can be less than $20. How can that be too much when you are soldering indium?

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 08:17:16 am
content: what is a brand name or store for these special irons?

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 02:54:55 pm
content: better yet does anyone sell hakko tips that are chrome plated? or pure thick nickel plating?they have high temp tips for some stuff. I wonder about cobalt. I wanted to try cobalt plating. Chrome plating it looks like its best to stay away from. I just happened to have made a few ounces of sulfamate nickel plate solution that would be enough for making a ironless tip, whatever that is worth. Maybe I will strip a old soldering iron point and give it a thick plating of pure nickel

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 06:02:29 am
content: ok Hakko does sell this as a pure nickel tip for harsh solders. Of course its not available in my iron (its T15).Only one tip in their whole god damn cataloghttps://hakkousa.com/products/soldering/t15-d16-chisel-tip.htmlI am suprised it works with solid nickel. I wonder if solid molybdenum would work, the thermal conductivity is good. But I don't think I will get a T15 iron or machine my own soldering iron tip.ah I can use it with the FM202 desoldering station if I buy some hand piece for it. I may do this.I am also tempted to cut a wedge shape into a plate of nickel I have and use it with a small fire (substantial cost savings)whenever I want something like this it exceeds my desired budget by a factor of 10.Oh ima just do it I was hand making my own indium solder alloys and already put way too much money in this shit before I end up burning coals in the lab like a troglodyte.its donethose t15 tips are kind of cool anyway. i might as well have the ability. Changing a T18 while its hot is some psycho shit. If you have to deal with hot fasteners it means something is going wrong IMO. Seriously it feels so sketchy. The T15 means you might actually change the tip to the optimal one instead of using a 0.5mm chisel to solder a bus bar because you don't want to hot work a t18. The old 'heat the giant blob of solder with the base of the tip' trick.oh man I wonder if it will even work any better lol

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 09:59:53 am
content: Why do you think molybdenum will perform better than nickel with harsh fluxes? It is generally considered more galvanically active than either iron or nickel. As an example, molybdenum greases promote corrosion of steel in wet environments.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 10:42:10 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on June 25, 2025, 06:02:29 amThat’s actually the link to the regular version, not the all-nickel version.Here’s the white paper about the special version (before T7 was renamed to T15):https://hakkousa.com/amfile/file/download/file/538/product/7600/

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 02:56:28 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on June 25, 2025, 09:59:53 ambecause the thermal conductivity of nickel is crap compared to copper and Mo is OKerI did not think pure Ni would even work in a soldering iron tip in that form factor, it has low thermal conductivity. i guess it must if they sell itI thought the solution had to be in a unique plating to maintain soldering iron function (maintain copper core). Replacing the copper with Mo would have less of a penalty and it should increase its resilience, I think there would be less damage if there was a small crack in the nickel, chrome, or whatever that let very corrosive flux get in there. Not sure how it would react by itself without a coating, it fares alot better in acid then copper in my pickling experiments. much longer to be destroyed in the same reaction. I don't know if Mo itself would make a good plating, its just possible to do somewhat easily. I think it might be ok if it comes on very nice, possibly better then iron for some things.the link has the PN for the nickel one in there btwWith pure nickel there is no problem to sand it somewhat substantially without worrying about compromising some coating if it gets bad

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 04:57:25 pm
content: For heat conductivity, Mo is 34% of copper; nickel is 23% of copper. Your problem was needing something more resistant to fluxes, not faster heating. One would expect molybdenum to be bothless resistantand less heat conductive than copper. Why suggest using it?

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 05:25:24 pm
content: I don't think Mo is less resistant then copper.It stands up to pickling better from what I can see in a beaker (for nitric acid)And I don't know what the solubiltiy is in tin, that one is important.The fun idea might be to take Mo and copper wire and see which one dissolves first in a solder pot.I have a few scrap ingot of tin lead solder (eutetic) from the trash that I might try it on for funand 30 is huge compared to 20, that is 40% more conductivity!

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 07:56:00 pm
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on June 25, 2025, 06:02:29 amHow do you have a FM202 and no handle for it? I don't get it.Or even a clone T12 station is <$30 with everything included.https://hakkousa.com/in510-nickel-chisel-tip-for-fm-2026.htmlhttps://hakkousa.com/pure-nickel-chisel-tip-for-fm-2026.htmlThe threaded ring on the end is for nitrogen, but you wouldn't necessarily need to use thathttps://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fm2026.html

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 08:00:16 pm
content: Here you go:Send me the dimensions you need. If they are doable, I will make it for you free, then send it to me. Of course, you pay all shipping costs

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 08:22:44 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on June 25, 2025, 07:56:00 pmfor the tweezerI had no need for another soldering iron but I wanted the tweezer

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2025, 06:08:11 am
content: Hmm OKI soldered a piece of brass wire to a piece of stainless steel wire (the one for airplane bolts) using a 'stainless steel' soldering flux. It did not work at first but after I sanded the wire pretty good, it wet and did adhere to leaded silver bearing solder (electronics type), and I can solder a brass wire to it. I used 750F setting.I did get some black smut on the nickel tip, but it does come off if you wipe it on a solder tinner, and it looks clean.The only problem is that you really feel how the nickel slows down the soldering. For a same sized copper tip, it feels completely tapped out. Cleaning with the block is slow. But it actually cleans lol, like you can see the black stuff come off and go into the block. With regular tips sometimes I feel like they just get more black..............??'I did not try it on Al yet, but I am suspicious that the tip will have trouble heating a substantial aluminum part.If it did work, getting that extra 40% from Mo would be a very noticeable improvement.Not sure how I feel about this, I guess pretty good. I am excited to try it on aluminum.,The only problem is that I forgot what I even thought I might need it for. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2025, 07:13:57 am
content: I thought about giving HMP solder a try. Also a interesting fact : pure tin has a higher thermal conductivity then basically all solders. Interesting to know for soldering parts to heat sinks (i.e. power resistors). I made little water heater blocks that way, only problem is if you leave it on the hose pops off and sprays hot water everywhere. Needs some more features added .Now I am wondering if you can scrape off the bottom of those anodized aluminum resistors to solder them to something with aluminum solder. Way too big a job for this little iron, but that would be cool as hell to make a big lap joint like that.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2025, 06:31:58 am
content: Tried it with aluminum, using stay clean aluminum flux and aluminum solder (high flow type). Iron set to 800F with nickel tip. It works but its hard to heat up with the nickel tip, because the thermals are not great. It should work at 700F for a smaller part, I soldered a substantial aluminum sheet corner. The part was cleaned with fiber brush and wiped with alcohol before soldering.However, it soldered it nicely (highly fluid) and the tip itself looks OK. The area above the tip looks crusty but not the working part.