Things You'll Need:
- Foiled stained glass pieces, arranged on your work table into the finished pattern
- Roll of solder, which comes in various metal compounds, some without lead
- Soldering iron of 75 watts power or more
- Soldering iron stand
- Sponge or rag for cleaning your soldering iron
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Step 1
Heat your soldering iron so that it can melt the solder. Meanwhile, group your foiled stained glass pieces into their finished arrangement. You may need to temper your iron by lightly coating the tip in solder.
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Step 2
Tack or solder joints first to hinge your project together. Joints are corners where two or more stained glass pieces come together. Tacking your project provides the basic strength for it to hold together.
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Step 3
Apply a thin coat of solder to cover all of the copper foil on one side of your project. This is known as tinning. Starting at one of your tacked joints, touch the soldering iron to the foil, then lightly touch the solder to the tip of the iron. As the solder melts, brush it on the foil with the iron tip. Clean the iron frequently as you work. Smooth out bumps later.
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Step 4
Bead the external seams and any others you want to stand out. Beading is essentially the same as tinning, except instead of spreading out the solder as you work, you allow it to bead up along the copper foil and dry in a raised pattern. The result produces a lovely raised effect. Beading is the most difficult step in soldering.
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Step 5
Solder the back of the project, then allow it to cool. When cool, wash it in clean, soapy water and dry thoroughly.
