Copper Foil Soldering Problems

When I go to solder the pieces together it gets clumpy and dirty looking and the outside edges are difficult to solder, what can I do to help this problem?

Answer

Hi,

It sounds like you have contaminated flux and/or a dirty soldering iron tip.

You should not dip your flux brush in the bottle the flux comes in. Constantly rubbing the foil with the brush and dipping the brush back in the bottle contaminates the flux and causes all sorts of soldering problems.

Get a new bottle of flux. When you're ready to solder, pour a small amount (like a tablespoon) into another container. Use the flux out of there. When you're done soldering, dispose of the remaining flux in that container. The flux in the original bottle will remain fresh and uncontaminated.

Wet a paper towel and squeeze it out so it is only damp, not soaking wet. Fold the towel into a square. As you're soldering, frequently wipe your soldering iron tip on the towel. That will keep your tip clean.

Lastly, read my tutorial on soldering copper foil.