Solder-NOT !?

[johnshenry]

I am trying to restore some pot metal handles, and wanted to go the route of Solder-IT, pot metal primer, copy chrome. I have ordered and have all of these products. But I cannot get Solder-It to work at all. I have tried it on a number of handles and it doesn\'t \"take\". While I am not certain of the alloy makeup of these handles, the metal cast does react with fizzing to the application of Sulfuric Acid, indicating a zinc alloy (right?).

I apply the paste and get it to boil, then ball, but it does not take to the metal at all. I have been soldering welding for years and am familiar with the techniques. I even tried heating the casted part from below to Solder It melting point and I get the same result. Just ball of solder. Used a micro butane torch as well as a larger Mapp gas torch.

Any suggestions? I totally stuck.


John H.

[mcaswell]

Try baking the part in an oven for 30 mins or so to get the entire thing to warm up.

[johnshenry]

To get the solder to adhere (while in the oven), or to just bake off some kind of impurities?

I am SURE I got this thing hotter with the Mapp torch than an oven would have.


JH

[mcaswell]

Put it in the oven to heat up the entire part before trying to solder it.

The problem you describe is a problem familiar to us, and heating the part in an oven first tends to solve it.

Usually, heating with a torch doesn\'t work as well. Perhaps the part is only heated locally.

[johnshenry]

So heat in the oven, then remove and quick apply solder? I am skeptical, but I\'ll give it a try.

Thanks..

JH

[mcaswell]

Please do - it should solve the problem.

We\'re also releasing a new product called Flash Copper in the next few days that makes it unbelievably simple to copper plate pot metal, lead, pewter, zincated aluminum and more.

In our tests, there wasn\'t a piece of pot metal we could find that it didn\'t stick to.

Watch this space for the announcement and link.