What is Tinning and Why is it Important?

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Whenever you’re working with a new soldering tip, you have to make sure it’s primed to conduct and pick up solder, as well as protected from oxidizing — which ensures your tips can live long and happy lives before it comes time for replacement. You do this by “tinning” your tips.

There are a few things that will shorten the lifespan of your soldering tips, and unfortunately even proper use is one of them. The hotter the temp, the more susceptible your soldering tips are to corrosion, so it’s important to keep them as clean of soot and impurities as possible, as well as covered with a protective layer of solder.

Tinning is basically covering your soldering tip in solder and flux to protect it. It’s no fun to find black sooty stuff on your work! Plus, those impurities will weaken your piece; think of them as little weak spots in your pewter. The fewer impurities, the stronger your finished jewelry.

Now there are a few ways to do this, but I find it’s easiest to do one of the following:

Method #1: Lead-Free Rosin-Core Electrical Solder
This involves using an electrical-grade solder to prime your tip.

Start with a cold iron. Load your tip, screw it tight, and wrap the first 3/4″ of the tip with electrical solder. This type of solder is very thin (about 1mm or less), and features a rosin core that keeps the tip free of corrosion without being as acidic as regular paste flux.

Once you’ve spiraled the solder tightly around your tip, trim the end off with wire cutters and turn on your iron.

Wait a minute or two for it to get up to temp. Once it does, you’ll see the solder “bloom” and collapse into liquid pewter, coating your tip. Quickly wipe the excess solder with steel wool, then dip the tip in your regular (paste/gel/etc.) flux and coat with Silvergleem Solder.

Go back and forth a couple times between loading your tip with solder and wiping clean with steel wool until your tip looks nice and shiny. Now you’re ready to make stuff!

Method #2: Using Tip Tinner
Tip Tinner comes in a little tin, and I haven’t noticed much of a difference between brands. It’s generally made with a combination of powdered solder, flux and a cleaning agent like sal ammoniac. Secure it with a bit of heavy duty foam tape to your heat-proof work surface so you don’t have to hold the tiny tin with your hand while you’re rubbing it into oblivion (second-degree burns put a real damper on the experience).

Load a new tip into your soldering iron and as soon as it starts to get hot, rub it firmly against a block of Tip Tinner. You’ll want to cover as much of the tip as possible. Don’t be afraid to press — your tip should come out liquid-silvery. Don’t stop until it looks like the Terminator.

Use a wad of steel wool to wipe the Tip Tinner from your tip, and cover it in Tinner again. Wipe off with the steel wool.

Now break out your solder and cover the tip in that, too. Let it melt in and be aware of any spots the solder doesn’t want to run — you’ll want to revisit these spots with Tip Tinner until the entire working surface of the tip is covered neatly.

After you’ve tinned your tip, you can begin soldering your projects.

The better maintained you keep your tips while you’re working, the longer they’ll last. Pay attention as you work, being careful to clean tips with fine steel wool and rubbing firmly against a block of sal ammoniac (a cleaning agent) to rid it of any impurities/oxidation.

It’s also important to remember that at the end of every soldering session, you need to wipe your tip clean of any sootiness with fine steel wool and coat it one last time in a nice thick layer of solder and then turn your iron off. This will protect your tip from oxidizing while you’re not using it.

Keeping the temp high helps solder flow fast and smooth, but heat and regular use degrade your tip every time you use it, so you want to make sure your iron’s only running while it’s in your hand or about to be. If you have to stop to add foil to a stone, burnish a piece, get a jump ring ready, etc, tin your tip and turn your iron OFF.

The more you let a soldering iron tip sit on without using it, the faster it’ll degrade. With proper maintenance your tips will last you many hours of work-time, but always keep extras around so you don’t burn a tip out at midnight with no usable replacements!

Taking care of your tools is important, and tinning your tips is no exception. Assure the long life of your soldering tips with proper care and maintenance.

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