- Soldering paste serves three purposes. It helps clean the copper as it heats, it helps the solder flow more evenly and it helps the solder adhere to the copper.
- Paste flux can come in several types of containers, including a flat can, a tube or a small bottle. It contains cleaning chemicals in a resin base.
- Tinning flux has a small amount of solder mixed into it, which puts a small amount into the joint before heating. Personal preference and craftsmanship determine whether this makes soldering easier.
- To apply flux to copper pipes, use a small brush, often provided with the flux when you buy it. For electronic circuits, dip the soldering iron tip, the solder itself and/or the wire directly into the can of flux.
- Some solder, called resin core or flux core, comes on a spool-like wire and has a center core filled with soldering paste. Most electronics technicians prefer flux core solder.
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