I was trying to make a 9 volt battery connector and this is my first time using my new soldering iron that i just bought today. I looked online and found what do to when you first get a brand new soldering iron which is to wait for it to heat up and then tin the tip which is what I did. But after my first few tries to tin a wire the tip started to turn black. SO now I don't know what to do or how to make it look clean again or if it really is a problem. SO PLEASE HELP. And any recomended channels or tips on how to better at soldering would really help.

 

1) wipe it on a damp sponge.
2) get used to it looking black where you don't use the hot part.
3) This belongs in, "Chat". I'll tell the moderators.
4) you're supposed to tin the tip AS it heats, not after it's done getting hot.

 

1) wipe it on a damp sponge.
2) get used to it looking black where you don't use the hot part.
3) This belongs in, "Chat". I'll tell the moderators.
4) you're supposed to tin the tip AS it heats, not after it's done getting hot.

Thanks man I really appreciate it.

 

5) I prefer a small, "chisel" tip. Your mileage may vary.

 

I'm a beginner myself, but my suggestion may be worth a try as it worked for me. That black i'll call it carbon layer develops when the tip gets very hot. What I did with mine was too pull tip out an inch. I thought the excess surface where it is air cooling sorta maintains the temperature at the tip...
If the tip's surface got black as well and it doesn't melt the tin, I rubbed it against the jaws of a long nose plier.

wait, was yours temperature controlled already?

 

I'm a beginner myself, but my suggestion may be worth a try as it worked for me. That black i'll call it carbon layer develops when the tip gets very hot. What I did with mine was too pull tip out an inch. I thought the excess surface where it is air cooling sorta maintains the temperature at the tip...
If the tip's surface got black as well and it doesn't melt the tin, I rubbed it against the jaws of a long nose plier.

wait, was yours temperature controlled already?

Yea it had been turned on for like about 10 minutes . Or can you explain what temperature controlled is???

 

Yea it had been turned on for like about 10 minutes . Or can you explain what temperature controlled is???

I asked whether was your soldering iron the temperature controlled type. In the background of your picture there a station with a knob, resembling a variable temperature soldering station iron. I have no experience with those to relate with the black occurrence.

 

Or can you explain what temperature controlled is???

"Temperature controlled" means you can control the temperature. For instance, that knob with red on its top end.

 

You have to keep on wiping the tip on a damp sponge and keep tinning the tip after each few joints.

 

For tips that cannot be cleaned on a wet sponge and re-tinned, carefully sand the black parts off with 600 grit sandpaper (while cold), and immediately tin as the tip gets hot. This will work a few times.

I always leave a drop of solder on the working part of the tip if I am going to leave the iron hot and unused for a minute or longer. Then, wipe and tin just before use. Tips will last a very long time if you do this religiously.

 

You have to keep on wiping the tip on a damp sponge and keep tinning the tip after each few joints.

I think I should have elaborated about the fact that wiping and re-tinning is a continuous part of soldering. Your tip will not stay pristine for a whole minute when you are actively soldering. The usual is:
1) Pick up the soldering iron,
2) wipe the tip, touch a tiny bit of solder to it, approach the joint,
3) go to step 2.
Sometimes you can do 5 joints in a row before you have to wipe again.

90% of soldering (and painting) is preparation and cleanliness. You only have to prep and clean once to paint a room, but you have to wipe the soldering tip a hundred times on a busy day.

 

When it gets really rough looking and wiping on a wet sponge doesn't do the trick anymore, you can sometimes clean it up with tip tinner. There's a number of them out there, here's one example:

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltroni...g_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8ENS6832XADVG7XPC5P8

IMHO it's easier to solder after some of this stuff wears off (the stuff I have doesn't allow solder to stick to the tip very well), but it does help to clean it up which gets you back in the game. You gently press your hot iron into it and it melts and chemically cleans the tip. It smells horrible when melting, but works.

 

I also had a bad habit of wiping the soldering tip off when I put the soldering iron back in the stand.

And this habit makes that there is only a very thin layer of tin to protect the soldering tip for a long time.