Removing Surface Oxides from Soldering Tips
Extended use of soldering tips at high temperatures can easily lead to oxidation. Here's how to deal with oxidized tips.
- Use Hakko 599B Cleaning Wire to remove the surface oxide.
- If that does not work, use the Hakko FS-100 Chemical Cleaning Paste. Please note that the FS-100 should not be used for other purposes apart from restoring the soldering tip.
- Dip the tip into the FS-100 paste for 2-3 seconds. Use a temperature setting of around 350ºC.
- Clean off the FS-100 paste from the tip surface with a cleaning sponge or cleaning wire.
- Apply solder to the tip to see if the solder melts.
- Repeat the process until the solder melts and wets the tip surface.
- This completes the re-tinning process and provides a protective layer of solder to prevent oxidation.
- Kindly note that oxidation can still occur in future even after re-tinning the tips. To prevent that, apply sufficient solder to the tip after each session of soldering to keep the tip protected when not in use.
For a more effective oxide removal, use the Hakko FT-700 Tip Polisher before and after using the FT-100.
If the solder still does not wet the tip surface after multiple cleaning processes, it is time to replace the soldering tip.