33 replies to this topic

[jimht]

Acid flux for any construction, regardless of the solder type.
With soldered in motors & lead wires where it's difficult to neutralize the acid, it's best to pre-tin & use rosin flux only if necessary, acid flux will corrode around the joint.

[TSR]

You tell me! Fortunately, we discovered tumblers to save those old piles...

[loudspeaker]

Hi, So maybe this is why they chattered!!!!! Sandy

[Tex]

I'm familiar with the fumes of the acid flux. The fumes from the rosin core brings back distant memories from decades ago. If I mix acid flux with 60/40 solder with a rosin core(?).....

What the heck, I'm old; how much shorter can it make my life?

[tonyp]

Acid flux always except for wires like Jim Said.

[Slapshot]

Fluxing...Sorry for the long rant....

Chassis
On chassis solder your hearts content with acid flux but clean it up afterwards under the faucet with powdered Comet kitchen cleanser (or similar) and you old crusty tooth brush. Also helps to neutralize with baking soda. Don't foget an use the tooth brush again, remember it's your chassis cleaning brush now.

Due to the destructive force and stress factors in for example open eurosport racing steel chassis need to be assembled with acid flux and silver solder. If you can find it use the old Staybrite 97/3 % silver as it flex/breakability factor more forgiving than harder 96/4 % solder. Using 60/40 has been tried and shears faster after multiple blast because it becomes too soft after a couple 5 min heats or three because of the twisting factors of the chassis under high horsepower. At least for my liking in steel chassis. I works fine or better in wire chassis. Even with silver solder you resolder impact areas after each race so that stress fatgue doesn't set in. That is your guide tounge, winglets at nose, and rear strut area.

Motors
Cobalt motors are a different animal though. Use only rosen flux. For example on Scale open "strap cobalt" Eurosport racing you have careful with both the heat and definately the type of flux. Ceramics are little less finicky, but similar depending whether you use Black max super glue or Skinner or Koford magnet epoxy..

As discussed in a previous thread: http://slotblog.net/...showtopic=10243 I will repost portions from this thread.

This is a trick I learned from Lee Gilbert. Use only Rosen flux in soldering your motor in. The reason the combination of too much heat and acid flux is corrosive to the magnet glue in open cobalt motors. Plus eventually doing nasty things to your can and aluminum endbell plating and coating. Trust me I have pulled a number of motors my box and found those I acidently used acid flux on to have disinetergrated the magnet epoxy on the solder side due to acid flux leaching in. As an example if you ever want to remove old cobalt magnets just put some acid flux on the glue let sit for 15 min then heat the can until they pop out. You need to clean then re glue to return magnet if you try this trick for the purpose of trying it. Skinner or Koford have equal resistance to acid flux once it does its age damage.

Acid flux and motors don't mix. It can be used and sometimes is necessary for tinning....but sadly if it doen't get clean up properly it will eventually pit corrode gassious stage leetch into everything. Actually the neet sizzling steam vapor that comes from using it is detrimental to the armature and electrical componets (and lungs). I accidently left a $30 coated aluminum endbell near a spilled acid flux puddle and found it a crusty white bubble foamed ruined mound of nothing the next day. Some how they mated and mutated. I'll blame the rental cat which I no longer have (no not what you think I was cat sitting).

Rosin Flux is just the lesser of the evils.

Acid Flux can be nasty but useful. It great and very necessary for spring steel chassis and stuff. Just be sure to clean them up using baking soda, or comet powedered cleanser and using a old throw away tooth brush under water. On spring steel chassis acid flux is a necessary.

Added note I use both 60/40 and silver but prefer silver solder.
Foamy is correct back in the day 60/40 especially on wire chassis were good to go out of the box.

Raymond

[endbelldrive]

Added note I use both 60/40 and silver but prefer silver solder.
Foamy is correct back in the day 60/40 especially on wire chassis were good to go out of the box.

Raymond

Same here. Used to use lower temp Staybrite (there used to be two kinds!) heated with a torch where I wanted the frame to be stiff (around the front and rear axle tubes) on them old frames.

Modern spring steel Eurosports and X-12 wire scratchbuilts (patterned after Craig Landry's Zap frames from the late 80s) with silver solder as chassis flex is already designed into them.

[TSR]

How about Araldite?

[endbelldrive]

How about Araldite?

Ahhh yes...Araldite! From this thread over here