Removing old solder from rails


GEXR

GEXR

New Member
I have recently acquired a lot of used HO snap track that had been connected using rail joiners and solder. There is a lot of turnouts and 18" curve sections that I would like to salvage and use/sell. I have separated all of the track sections by breaking the rail joiners in half. Now, I would like to remove the broken joiners from the rails, however, the solder is a problem. I can manage to remove the broken joiners by heating with a soldering iron but the solder remains.

Would anyone happen to have a good method of removing solder from rails, mostly brass? Thanks.

-James
 
Jim has the right idea.
A great tool for solder removel is the
DS017, SOLDER PULLIT TOOL, EDSYN CORPORATION
They work very good. By cocking a plunger in a tube and clicking a button, they suck up the solder. The powered solder suckers aren't worth a nickel nor are the manual type by Radio Shack. Still, all types will leave enought solder to sometimes make it difficult to get another joiner on. You still may have to do some trim filing; only takes a few seconds.
 
what I have done was to use a small variable heat iron, and first heat the end up enough to pop off the remains of the joiner, then reheat and use a piece of paper towel and wipe off the remaining solder, if done properly you can 'see' where the solder was, but you won't 'feel' any ....

...enjoy..
 
Yeah, that is a good and cheap way to do it. That's reminds me, a small wetted sponge works great also for final cleaning. Heat and quickly brush with sponge.
 
I use a Pace vacuum desoldering unit. Whilst it doesn't remove ALL of the solder (there always will be a small amount on the rails) it removes most of it. I can lightly file the remainder off with jeweler files, if needed.
 
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If you can get someone to help, start out by having them pull the sections apart including joiners while you heat them. You can separate the sections in a short time. Once the sections and joiners are pulled off you can take your time at the bench using the wick or solder vacuum above to finish the job.

Good Luck
 
Solder wick/braid is what I use in the electronics lab - cheap and very effective. The best type is the rosin impregnated stuff, but it does leave behind a residue. That can be cleaned up easily with flux remover.

One tip to help reduce melting the ties is to attach a small vise grip to the rail just behind the area to be desoldered - it acts as a heat sink and can buy you a few more seconds before the plastic ties start to melt.

Mark
 
Thanks everyone for the info. I picked up a roll of the solder wick and it works great for lifting most of the old solder. I almost picked up one of the little vacuum type units but it had plastic tips which would need regular replacement. As far as I know, plastic and heat should not go hand-in-hand!

-James
 
Some of the cheapies do have plastic tips that need replacement regularly. The bulb types with the aluminum nozzle are the best but I find the solder wick does at least as good a job and I don't need three hands to use it. :)
 
hamltnblue said:
It's probably not a plastic tip. Probably teflon or another material that can handle the heat.
Click to expand...
Teflon is correct, at least for the manual piston/plunger type solder suckers. The brand SolderPullit is very good and I have used them for over 40 years. It takes a few years of work before you have to replace a tip. The Radio Shack model isn't too bad, but its main problem is the size. It's not big enough to get a lot of suction on the solder.
 
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