G
guitarman0309
Guest
The title says it all. How can I get solder to stick to the back of my pot for grounding. It almost never does, but when it does, it won't melt again. Please help! Aggrivated! :yell:
PoorMan
MoneyForNothingologist
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
Sounds like 2 problems...
1. Not sticking: rough up the pot with some sandpaper like Brow said (400-600 grit is fine), smear on flux, wipe flux off with clean paper towel. This provides a clean surface to stick to.
2. Solder won't melt: How many watts is your soldering iron? I use 45 for pretty much everything. Is ths tip tinned? Did you give it enought time to heat up? I use chaepie Radio Shack irons and I give them a good 8-10 mins to heat up.
As far as not being able to re-melting the solder, either your iron is too weak, isn;t heated all the way up, or not properly tinned.
Sounds like 2 problems...
1. Not sticking: rough up the pot with some sandpaper like Brow said (400-600 grit is fine), smear on flux, wipe flux off with clean paper towel. This provides a clean surface to stick to.
2. Solder won't melt: How many watts is your soldering iron? I use 45 for pretty much everything. Is ths tip tinned? Did you give it enought time to heat up? I use chaepie Radio Shack irons and I give them a good 8-10 mins to heat up.
As far as not being able to re-melting the solder, either your iron is too weak, isn;t heated all the way up, or not properly tinned.
G
guitarman0309
Guest
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
Ok, but isn't it possible to overheat the pot? How hot is too hot? Degrees celsius please. Thanks for your help!
Ok, but isn't it possible to overheat the pot? How hot is too hot? Degrees celsius please. Thanks for your help!
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
PoorMan
MoneyForNothingologist
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
Technically, yes, you can fry the pot. But if you are using a proper iron for the job you don't need to be concerned.
Get a decent 45watt iron and that will fit the bill perfectly.
Technically, yes, you can fry the pot. But if you are using a proper iron for the job you don't need to be concerned.
Get a decent 45watt iron and that will fit the bill perfectly.
G
guitarman0309
Guest
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
Wow. That helped a lot! I actually just grounded my pickups and worked perfectily! Thanks so much!
Wow. That helped a lot! I actually just grounded my pickups and worked perfectily! Thanks so much!
Myaccount876
Amira-Maker
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
+1 to the higher watt iron. I used to use a STUPID est. 20W jagged??? tip soldering iron because that is all we had and we never really got anything else. I hated the stupid thing with a passion, so I got a 5W-40W adjustable iron with a very small flat tip. Works very well for both grounding work and small switch work.
+1 to the higher watt iron. I used to use a STUPID est. 20W jagged??? tip soldering iron because that is all we had and we never really got anything else. I hated the stupid thing with a passion, so I got a 5W-40W adjustable iron with a very small flat tip. Works very well for both grounding work and small switch work.
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
I used to hate that. When in doubt use more heat.
I used to hate that. When in doubt use more heat.
Satchmoeddie
New member
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
I use GC liquid flux. Solder will stick to painted concrete with that stuff. I think the stuff is spruce tree sap. GC stands for General Cement and they go way back in electronics, hold the trade name Variac, and make a whole lot of chemical stuff for audio repair. They were the only liquid flux I could find. A word of warning the lids stick on the bottles really bad after you open the stuff use it close the bottle and let it sit. I use a Workmate bench to hold the square bottle and very carefully twist the cap back off with small channellocks. The wood workmate wont crush the glass jar. The channelocks will. That stuff works great. I use it on aluminum chassis ground star connections in amps. I never had too many issues with pots, but I do not use Alpha pots in guitars very often. Too much heat only affects carbon plastic element pots. Make sure you let the pot get hot enough for the solder to flow and stick to it. I rarely have any problems. When you see a bit of cloudy liquid run out around the solder blob it is ready to stick. I can just tell by looking if it will stick or not by looking at the puddle. When it starts to flatten out and run it will stick. I use 3 old Weller ESD safe pencils and 2 bases. One is teeny tiny, and the other two are standard pencils one with a conical tip the other a flat tip. Use a flat tip. You get better surface contact thus better heat transfer. I have a spare flat tip. When I solder up an amp I go so fast and do so many solder joints the tips cool off, and a grab another pencil so I can keep on going. A guitar control cavity has so few things to be soldered on pencil is fine. I also keep a gun, and big Bertha the monster pencil for chassis grounds. I just got an SMD unit for newer amps like Carvins. The teeny tiny pen will do SMD but I haven't the patience for it. Cleaning the back of the pot with denatured alcohol carefully can help. Some guys take a Dremel and rough up the back of the pot. I would stick with fine grit if I were doing that, and use a magnet to pick up any bits of metal sanded off. I started doing electronics way back when I was 7, and soldering soon after. A friend's dad was a EE and I thought electronics was the coolest thing ever. Anyway try a drop of GC liquid flux. You can burn it off, so you may need to add more. It will evaporate before the solder melts, so you may need to drip some onto the hot solder. I usually work with my bases set on high and work fast.
I use GC liquid flux. Solder will stick to painted concrete with that stuff. I think the stuff is spruce tree sap. GC stands for General Cement and they go way back in electronics, hold the trade name Variac, and make a whole lot of chemical stuff for audio repair. They were the only liquid flux I could find. A word of warning the lids stick on the bottles really bad after you open the stuff use it close the bottle and let it sit. I use a Workmate bench to hold the square bottle and very carefully twist the cap back off with small channellocks. The wood workmate wont crush the glass jar. The channelocks will. That stuff works great. I use it on aluminum chassis ground star connections in amps. I never had too many issues with pots, but I do not use Alpha pots in guitars very often. Too much heat only affects carbon plastic element pots. Make sure you let the pot get hot enough for the solder to flow and stick to it. I rarely have any problems. When you see a bit of cloudy liquid run out around the solder blob it is ready to stick. I can just tell by looking if it will stick or not by looking at the puddle. When it starts to flatten out and run it will stick. I use 3 old Weller ESD safe pencils and 2 bases. One is teeny tiny, and the other two are standard pencils one with a conical tip the other a flat tip. Use a flat tip. You get better surface contact thus better heat transfer. I have a spare flat tip. When I solder up an amp I go so fast and do so many solder joints the tips cool off, and a grab another pencil so I can keep on going. A guitar control cavity has so few things to be soldered on pencil is fine. I also keep a gun, and big Bertha the monster pencil for chassis grounds. I just got an SMD unit for newer amps like Carvins. The teeny tiny pen will do SMD but I haven't the patience for it. Cleaning the back of the pot with denatured alcohol carefully can help. Some guys take a Dremel and rough up the back of the pot. I would stick with fine grit if I were doing that, and use a magnet to pick up any bits of metal sanded off. I started doing electronics way back when I was 7, and soldering soon after. A friend's dad was a EE and I thought electronics was the coolest thing ever. Anyway try a drop of GC liquid flux. You can burn it off, so you may need to add more. It will evaporate before the solder melts, so you may need to drip some onto the hot solder. I usually work with my bases set on high and work fast.
T
tonello
Guest
Re: Solder won't stick to back of pot?
Yeah, I do the screwdriver trick. use a flat blade and just pull enough of the dullness off the the shiny coat underneath shows. Other than that, I don't know how else to do it.
Yeah, I do the screwdriver trick. use a flat blade and just pull enough of the dullness off the the shiny coat underneath shows. Other than that, I don't know how else to do it.
