How to Use Tip Tinner

Use a tip tinner to clean your soldering iron.

Soldering irons are used widely in the electronics manufacturing and repair industry. After you use a variety of kinds of soldering flux, the tip of the soldering iron can become frozen with chemical compounds and ruin its overall performance. A tip tinner is used to clean the soldering tip between and after soldering work. According to MG Chemicals, the tip tinner is a mixture of soldering powder and oxide-reducing compounds, and efficiently removes frozen flux and other compounds from the soldering tip. Tip tinner should be used after all soldering work, prior to storing the tip, to prevent the freezing of chemicals.

Instructions

1. Heat the soldering iron to the maximum operating temperature. Simply plug it in and allow it to heat up for five to ten minutes.

2. Roll the soldering iron tip over the surface of the tip tinner. You can place the soldering tip on the tinner and twist the handle of the soldering iron, or wipe it across the tinner until the soldering tip is cleaned. This should only take a few seconds, or maybe up to a minute depending on the level of flux residue on your soldering tip.

3. Wipe the remaining residue off of the soldering tip with a wet sponge while the iron is still hot. The soldering tip should now be completely free of flux residue.

Tips & Warnings

• Lead-free or lead content tinner is available for cleaning. Choose a tinner that corresponds to the type of flux you use for soldering.

• Be extremely careful when wiping the tip with the sponge. The soldering iron is very hot and can easily burn you or the sponge. Only hold the sponge momentarily and wipe swiftly to avoid burning.

References

• MG Chemicals: Tip Tinner Use
• CCIS: Lead Free Tip Tinner
• Qualitek: Delta Tip Tinner