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Impossible to solder enamelled wire!

post #1 of 23
5/4/08 at 10:41am
Thread Starter 
In my collection I have a pair of Sony CD1700s. They were excellent phones. A couple of years ago, for some obscure reason, I snipped the plug off to replace it with a new one. I have never in all that time been able to solder the wires so they have just sat there until I tried, and failed again, today.

I understand the wires are enamel coated. There are also hundreds of strands of some kind of soft fibre in there too.

I have attempted melting the enamel with a flame until the wire is white, sandpapered, scraped with blades, melted on aspirins, cleaned with a whole array of cleaners and still I can't get the tiniest micro dot of solder to cling.

Before I put them on the classifieds with this warning attached, is there anything else I can try?
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post #2 of 23
5/4/08 at 11:44am
a temp controlled soldering iron can melt the enamel off, or a solder pot, which is easiest.
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post #3 of 23
5/4/08 at 1:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by soloz2 View Post
a temp controlled soldering iron can melt the enamel off, or a solder pot, which is easiest.
And what sort of temperature would I need to set it at?
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post #4 of 23
5/4/08 at 1:24pm
Lighter. Burn it off, and then scrap off the ash/crust crap.

Someone else mentioned here to put a piece of small, wet paper towel just below where you are going to burn- as to not burn anything more than what you want.
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post #5 of 23
5/4/08 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnothingpoetic View Post
Lighter. Burn it off, and then scrap off the ash/crust crap.
Tried it. Numerous times over the last couple of years. Doesn't work.
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post #6 of 23
5/4/08 at 3:44pm
You need about 800F to melt enamel, but it can be done with less.

Take your soldering iron, put some solder on it, place the wire on top of it, add solder, create a mini-solder-pot on top of the iron, you should have that enamel off in 15 seconds. Add lots of solder, and more as needed.
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post #7 of 23
5/4/08 at 4:44pm
Or you can sand it iff with sandpaper, or scrap it off with an exacto knife.
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post #8 of 23
5/4/08 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by keiron99 View Post
Tried it. Numerous times over the last couple of years. Doesn't work.
Then use a 'jet' type lighter.

Like this one:
DealExtreme: $2.78 Jet 1300-C Butane Lighter

Personally I just dip it in flux and heat it with the same 700f soldering tip i use for 99% of my soldering.
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post #9 of 23
5/5/08 at 7:30am
Seperate out all the white fibres, bunch them together and cut them off. For the enamel, as has been said, scrape it off with a stanley or knife or heat it with the soldering iron.

Both have worked for me, it is a bit of a pain, but the again I've never liked doing cables anyway.
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post #10 of 23
5/5/08 at 11:08pm
Dipping the wire in paste flux first, helps alot. I made an easy solder pot by unscrewing the tip of a cheap Weller solder pencil and clamping it to stand upright, letting it heat up, and filling the tip with solder. Can't use it for anything else after that, but a miniture solder pot is damn handy. Dip the fluxed tip of the wires into the liquid pool of solder till you see the solder take to the wire.
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post #11 of 23
5/5/08 at 11:42pm
I'll second the sandpaper. Just lightly rub the end until a couple millimeters is clean. Holding the iron on the wire might melt the enamel, but it also might oxidize the copper wire.

Try both, see which one works.
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post #12 of 23
5/6/08 at 1:00am
I've used a chemical enamel stripper to remove it. Go to the hardware store and look for a paint stripper that will remove enamel. That will do it.

You can use a small hobby brush to apply the stripper exactly where you want. After stripping BE SURE to clean off the rest of the stripper - use what the label says to neutralize.

For one, you don't want stripper on your hands. Two, you DO NOT want to heat up and/or ignite leftover stripper with your soldering iron.
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post #13 of 23
5/7/08 at 10:05am
my 700f solder pot does the trick nicely.
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post #14 of 23
11/22/08 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Budgie View Post
Dipping the wire in paste flux first, helps alot. I made an easy solder pot by unscrewing the tip of a cheap Weller solder pencil and clamping it to stand upright, letting it heat up, and filling the tip with solder. Can't use it for anything else after that, but a miniture solder pot is damn handy. Dip the fluxed tip of the wires into the liquid pool of solder till you see the solder take to the wire.
Neat idea, sounds lie I need to find an Ebay sacrificial Lamb!
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post #15 of 23
11/23/08 at 4:17pm
I little trick I picked up from the R/C guys is to put the wire on top of an aspirin tablet and then put the iron on top of that. The aspirin will chemically remove the enamel in a few seconds. Don't breath the smoke and you must use aspirin. Anything else wont work.
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