"Easy" solder woes

[Jimbob79]

Hi,

I've been trying to solder a small ring using easy solder. The only problem is that the solder dosnt dissolve and when I put it in the pickle, I can flick it off with a finger nail.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Jim

[Dennis]

Jim, solder is not meant to dissolve in pickle, so I think you mean flux, which can form a hard glaze, particularly if you use a very thick mix..
It will come of if you heat your pickle til it steams and waft the ring around a bit with tweezers.
Many of us use Auflux/Auroflux, which is a fluid and does not have that problem.

However, if you are using paste solder, which incorporates its own flux, you are probably getting it too hot too quickly and being left with a burnt paste. In this case, solder which appears to have flowed might be defective too. It should be silvery and not grey when cleaned up. Dennis.

[china]

Are you saying that joint is not being joined by the solder

[Ankolosova]

Maybe your easy solder is not good. I have bought my 1st solder from amazon.... :(| ages ago... still have it ... it does not melt!!!!! only decent suppliers now

[Jimbob79]

Hi china,

It dosnt seem to be...it just goes black and when I put it in the pickle, then the water and dry it off i can just pick it off with my nails. I didn't have the problem with the other rings i made.

[CJ57]

Is it paste or strip solder? And what are your processes for soldering?

[pearlescence]

Possible cause is that you are not getting the item hot enough (so the solder is not melting and flowing - clearly if you can flick the little pieces off with your fingernail). You need to see the solder melt and flow into the joint. Clean both sides of the joint so you have bright metal and try again, heating until you see that instant of flow.

[china]

I would suggest that you go back and check everything is correct i.e., joint is clean, joint is fluxed, solder is clean, solder is fluxed (solder that has been sitting around a longtime can have developed a surface coating)
as said above heat until solder flows into the joint.
I that all fails the try a new piece of solder.

[Jimbob79]

Thanks for the advice, I probably wasnt heating enough or cleaned the edges well enough...its a paste that I brought only the other week so hopefully should still be ok...

[enigma]

Paste in the tube lasts for ages so it is most likely you didn't heat up evenly enough and burnt the flux off before the piece was hot enough for the solder to flow.
Or it could be due to contamination on the area so make sure it is light sanded over where you want the solder to flow.
It can be an issue with paste as the flux burns off quicker than when you add your own flux to solder strip, but it is only a question of making sure the piece is heated evenly enough so persevere after cleaning the piece up fully.

[pearlescence]

Sometimes solder just doesn't go. And you never work out exactly why. You just have to clean everything to bright metal, re-do the tightness of the joint and try again