How To Change A Soldering Iron Tip

Use the lowest possible temperature to prevent premature wear to the tip and to prevent damage to the components.

How to change a soldering iron tip. Before soldering clean your tip with a clean cloth and some alcohol. Install the prepared tip in your soldering iron. Insert the Tip in Good Quality Tip Tinner.

When I used the old cheapy soldering irons I would just tin them with regular solder and file smooth and re-tin as needed. So when its heating up you must apply solder 60 tin 40 lead to the tip and this process is called tinning the tip. Clean the tinned tip and you have a refurbished soldering tip.

If you want to speed things up a little bit and do it safely theres another way. To prevent oxidation apply a thin layer of solder to the tip after you finish soldering. Search Findchips and Save Today.

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. 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. If it doesnt you need to remove all solder and grind the tip again more thoroughly.

Do not use your soldering iron tip as a screwdriver and never use it to pry. Put in the new soldering tip and put the screw back in by turning it clockwise with the screwdriver. Well when the iron soldering warms up the iron plating which is the working surface would start oxidizing due to the temperature.

Now I can remove the tip careful not to touch it using the tool. I go through desoldering tips every 6 months or so probably damaged by the prying forces of the contacts. Melt some good quality of solder wire on the Tip.