Will this damage the plating on metal surfaces? I'd like to use to clean my soldering iron tips but I don't want anything too hard that might ruin th
1699189
The bristles of the brush are fiberglass and will scratch polished soft metal surfaces. I use mine to scratch the oxydation off of soft copper PC board circuits to prepare them for soldering. Iron-clad soldering iron tips are meant to be sacrificial to some degree. Clean them with a damp sponge when hot to quench ash off of them. Immediately re-tin with solder. This fiberglass brush could be a reasonable tool to use on a cool iron tip but, I would choose using a steel wire wheel on a bench grinder (carefully) for the job.
1599866
There should be no problem. Just make sure you cleaned all the plastic off the tip and it will work just fine. You just don't want to get melted plastic in your solder joints! So clean it all off.
1940553
I don't think there's any problem using this product on aluminum, I have used it with great success and the product has come in contact with several differt metals including copper and brass without issues. Make sure if your using a scraper to scrape with somethingthat won't damage your aluminum.
1795919
Go to maas.com, they can answer this better than I can.You will be told what is best to use for all metal and polish yourjewelry.
1096336
Sorry I have never used it that way, however just a little heat and you will be just fine. You will notice the solder paste turns from a grayish color to silver once heat is applied. This is meant for surface mount devices which are hard to solder with and iron. Hope this helps a little. Try a hair dryer if you don't have a regular heat gun.
651380
I am not sure. If the metal is black in color in some cases the color will fade to reveal the actual metal color. The cleaning works instantly.
838830
It would be very difficult, as the tip screws on and stays on by means of the actual body of the soldering iron. And if you don't have a tip, it is incapable of functioning at a practical level.
2056767
I've never seen it damage a surface, although I suppose it could, since it contains distillates (like toluene?) that might dissolve some materials. More importantly, this stuff is VERY sticky, so on a rough surface you would never be able to completely remove it. For that matter once it gets a good grip, it's about impossible to pull apart anyway. For example, I glued just the red plastic cover from a small reflector (with no backing) to the rear of the seat post on my bike -- just for fun, and extra safety. I put one blob on each side where the reflector touched the post, and masking taped the reflector in place till the glue dried. Years later when I replaced the seat and had to pull off the reflector, first it hadn't fallen off in the meantime, and second it was nearly impossible to get loose, then I had to work at remaining blobs of glue, stuck to chromed steel, with needle nose pliers, to yank them off the metal.
1117980
I have used this product for many years with no problems. I clean some brass and copper mugs with this and no problem, but I do wash it off. Be sure to really dry your copper pieces thoroughly after cleaning - moisture will make them turn dark very soon. I dry the pieces clean and then I take a perfectly dry cloth and go over them again. Hope this answer your question.
1999426
Not sure. I have used it for electrical soldering and some jewelry soldering. have to be careful burns a little hot.
1032453
I have used this on many things and it works very well. I have not used it on Metal.
169480
I would say yes, as long as you sand of the metal, if paint is on it, to ensure the soldering is applied. Be careful as the soldering tip is extremely hot
1830760
Tom: yes , thats the reason I purchased it. It works very well for cleaning parts. However.... It is mixed with water so it tends to evaporate alittle so the water needs to be added occasionally and metal parts cleaned should be dried off ASAP after cleaning to avoid oxidation. Hope this helped. Works good & You can adjust the dilution rate.
461509
We have used it for Stainless Steel but we have never used it on nickel plating. Stainless steel is pretty hardy as nickel plating; the only thing I would be weary off is that it might damage the plating.
723815
yes - clean surfaces with sanding and acetone. Bi-metal corrosion not an issue, as this does not act like steel.
447248
I would NOT use this great product on copper. I wouldn't use any type of scrubber on copper. If you notice copper bottom pots are usually worn off by scrubbing them. Plated silver, same thing. Be verygentle with plated items and soft metal. I've noticed that raw egg will cause a stain mark on copper, and raw egg will tarnish my silver; at least for one washing.
706417
To answer your question directly, it is not madatory but it does help. Tinning the tip(s) only takes a small amount of solder and helps the solder heat and flow easier. Just allow the iron to get hot, apply a bit of solder and then wipe clean. Use a rosin core solder with a thickness appropriate for the job. On circuit boards use a thin diameter (.093 or smaller) and then larger as the wire diameter increases. Hope this helps, I was a NASA certified solderer 40+ years ago when I worked in the R&D; Lab on the Apollo program.