Solder paint resurrection

[johnp]

Is it possible to resurrect some solder paint that has dried out?

Regards,

John

[Paul Willis]

Is it possible to resurrect some solder paint that has dried out?

I've done it successfully, but the key point is "how far has it gone?".

Mine was like a very thick sludge, just starting to go solid on the top. It's a jar of Carr's 188, which must be at least 20 years old.

I added, small amounts at a time, Green Label flux, and stirred it in thoroughly with an old screwdriver. I took the time to make it smooth and remove the lumps. A bit like baking a cake! It's now as good as new, and there is still a third of the pot left for more kits

I suspect that if it has gone to the point of being solid so that you have to chip lumps off it, it's too far gone

HTH
Flymo

[johnp]

Hi! Flymo,

It is solid and is also Carr's. It has scraped to a powder so far but I do not have any Green label flux. I only have Orange label flux available.

Regards,

John

[Paul Willis]

It is solid and is also Carr's. It has scraped to a powder so far but I do not have any Green label flux. I only have Orange label flux available.

That may well work

What's the worst that can happen? It's not like the world is going to end if you mix the two together. To avoid wasting too much, I'd just try a little and see if you can make a suitable goop on the surface, a bit like using a block of watercolour paint, or making Japanese tea in the traditional manner.

BTW, if you want to have an amusing read about things that you mix together and the world *may* end, a friend pointed me at this earlier today:

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/things_i_wont_work_with/

Cheers
Flymo

[Guy Rixon]

I have diluted some old solder-paint (Eileen's product) with plain tap-water, on the assumption that the active part of the flux is not lost by evaporation but concentrates as the paste dries. It works as well now as it ever did.

[nigelcliffe]

I agree with Guy - use water, its the water which has evaporated.
Depending on the other things in your local water (hard vs soft, etc. which may react with the acid flux), then use of either filtered rainwater or distilled water may be sensible.

[johnp]

Thank you, gentlemen.

We have quite soft water so I will give that a try. If not I have a bottle of de-ionised water somewhere!

That web site makes me shiver at the risks we used to take as school boys in the days when chemicals in the lab were readily available!

Some of my fellow pupils made some nitro glycerine - it isn't difficult - just very dangerous! They set it off by lobbing some stones onto the test tube.

Regards,

John

[David B]

. . . makes me shiver at the risks we used to take as school boys in the days when chemicals in the lab were readily available!

I recall the fascination with mercury, rolling it around in one's hands. It was also left for days in open dishes.

There was also a substance that got spilled on a windowsill. It was wiped up but some clearly got underneath the tiles because when it dried, it exploded and blasted the tiles off.

Happy days??

[Chris Mitton]

That web site makes me shiver at the risks we used to take as school boys in the days when chemicals in the lab were readily available!

I still get the shivers when I think of my first chemistry lesson, aged eleven, wondering what the rack of brightly coloured liquids in front of each bench was for. Concentrated Nitric Acid, Potassium Ferro-Cyanide, Potassium Permanganate...there must have been a couple of dozen lethal substances within reach.

Some of my fellow pupils made some nitro glycerine - it isn't difficult - just very dangerous! They set it off by lobbing some stones onto the test tube.

A couple of my school colleagues once made some ethyl bromide (aka tear gas) early one morning, and left it wafting round the back of the stage shortly before the headmaster arrived for morning assembly....

Happy days before H&S!
Regards
Chris