10 Soldering Tips to Instantly Improve Your Soldering Skills

For people saying I'm giving out bad information, these 10 (11 tips on the website) tips are based off speed, efficiency and results from soldering for the past 20 years. I have a degree in electronics engineering and my first job out of college was repairing surface mount components under a microscope at Nokia. My job for 3 years was soldering daily.
I can comfortably say I've built over 100 quads. When you've been soldering for this long you find out what works and what doesn't.
Yes in school they teach you to use flux but we all know what is taught in school is not always practical in real life. I'm not saying don't use flux, it's just not needed. Use a rosin core solder, it has flux in it.
As for the tip, I'm just saying the cone tip is a more versatile tip. Yes, a wedge tip is great for batteries and motor wires but there are some jobs it can't do. Like if you're trying to replace a surface mount component on a vtx or flight controller. Try replacing a microprocessor chip with a wedge tip, you'll end up with solder blobs everywhere and kill the chip. A cone tip doesn't excel for any job but it can do all jobs.

Liked the way you talk. Simple fast

All great tips!
Tip 11: Practice a LOT and practice on scrap electronics. Scrap and broken parts are plentiful! I found that because i sometimes go for long periods of time between solder work, it really helps to do a little practice before working on something, just to freshen up my skills.

This is the best soldering instructional video I have ever seen. It's clear, quick and comprehensive. 5 stars!

I saved this in my favourites a couple years back. Today I'm watching it as I'm about to solder.
Thanks!

High heat low amount of time is the best advice I’ve heard in years

Not a RC guy but this is very helpful for anyone doing electronic work.

Very well done young man. I'm 66 years old and you were fast, yet accurate. Thanks

Just a few tips: 1. the flux melts first cleaning oxidation so the solder can wet the pads when it melts. 2. I would use the larger tip for the larger pads and wire. 3. Don't mash on your solder wick. This is where you could use some external flux. Flux the pad and the solder wick, melt your solder and put the end of the solder wick into the melted solder. No pulled pads and it will wick really fast. Other than that I liked all your info regarding tools and equipment. Not bad info; it will get the job done. And, btw, I'm a master soldering instructor, been doing it for 40 years.

I've been soldering for 20+ years, and you've helped me greatly. Thanks for the lead to that nice new iron too!

It has been decades since I was in electronics and electrical shop at high school. Now I am going to do some fine, small wire soldering to install a car audio system. I am so thankful that I came across your video. These ten tips to improve my skills are most definitely going to result in my success with this project that I am doing. Thanks so very much for your easy to understand instruction.

Loved your video. Zero BS, straight to the point, great tips. Too bad more youtubers don't follow your example. Thanks!

I haven't done any soldering in years. Started feeling the urge to do a few projects during the quarantine. This video was a great reminder on the "little things" I forgot over the years. Thanks for posting!

Great video. Saved to my favs playlist. As an amateur electronics enthusiast I have been doing a lot of things wrong that just made everything harder. Even if it worked it definitely looked bad and I even doubted how long it would last or how well it would perform. These tips have given me a lot more confidence and helped me increase my quality and speed.

Been soldering for a few years and came across this video. This is such a great video and perfect for getting a crash course in soldering! I never knew the fumes were toxic at all so I'm glad I decided to check this out, awesome tips!

All right, it's 2:39 in the middle of the night! Time to get some soldering done!

Thank you for clear and to the point tips. I'm a single mom and I would usually ask my dad or grandpa how to do it, but now since they've passed on it's nice to find someone like you to help! Thanks again!🌴

Really good tips. Should be shared in classes for those that teach.

I'm new to this, and I was having a heck of a time! This man is to the point, knowledgeable, and experienced! He made all the difference for me! Thank you!

Great tips. One thing I do is use heat sinks on the wire to keep the solder from wicking up underneath the insulation of the wire. Good job. And as someone mentioned, you got it done in 5:45. Straight to the point! Thanks.

I've started to learn so this moment and your instructions and tips were perfectly clear and understandable. I highly appreciate the time you took to help beginners such as myself.

Best video so far, straight to the point , I wish I’d seen this before I worked on my DJI now ima go back and fix it thanks to you bro

Really appreciate this video as I’ll be doing my first solder in the coming days and needed to understand certain things before I start. Thank you

I'd been trying to properly solder wires to the heatbed of my 3d printer for like two hours when I found this video. After watching and using these tips, got it on the very next try. Thank you!

Thanks bro simple and straightforward you helped me more than those 10 minutes then anyone else did in the last year soldering

Good job, I have been soldering for 48 years, and these tips are great to get the new people started, I learned in high school in my electronics 1 class, and this is what I was taught, except for the ventilation, we did not care back then.

Awesome tips! I just started soldering a few weeks ago and I wonder why I did not pick up this skill years ago. Thank you for the tips they where very helpful!

I’ve never soldered anything in my life. But I’m feel very confident going into my first attempt. Thanks! Highly informative!!!!

This is THE VIDEO that I tell others to find if they are new or haven't soldered in a while. Thank you for making this!!!

WOW i just start soldering kit for hobby and i learn so much in 5 min. thats just make me like more this facinating new hobby.thank you , really appreciate

loved the fact you didn't drag it out straight to the point and quick examples.......Thank You

Everyone else was over-explaining how to solder. I learned more from you being straightforward and simple than from the other 8 or so vids where the people were bloviating and showing off how much they knew. Great vid! 🎉

This is the best soldering video I've seen yet. You showed everything we need, nothing we don't. You explained everything we need, nothing we don't.

This video just opened my eyes and my mind.

I'm impressed. I'm new to soldering and found this video extremely helpful. Thanks!

I haven't soldered since I was in the Marine Corps nearly 40 years ago. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Take care!

Well done! I have to do a bunch of soldering today and I've never done it before. I feel alot more confident now!

Great tips, all of which I've learned the hard way. My favorite one is high heat quickly, not low heat slowly, escpecially when soldering aluminum wire. If one wants to get into soldering, I'd suggest to get a rework station. It doesn't have to be a real high priced one, x-tronics 4000 series is a real good unit for the price and very reliable. Learning to use a hot air gun could prove to be just as valuable as learning to solder... they go hand in hand in this field.

Thank you for sharing your expertise. I was always kind of scared to try this but wanted to be able to so this was a big help.

Best and simplest of all the solder how-to videos I've watched! Especially appreciate the "tin the pad, then insert the wire into the solder;" great tip!

These are great tips and very helpful for my ARRIS M700 custom build. Tinning, high heat, and low time of contact is key. Thanks!

Loved the video man. Very professional , accurate, and simplified. Great job thank you.

This is the soldering video I didn't know I needed. Thank you!

Thank you. I literally watched your video and used a Radio Shack soldering iron I bought over 10 years but never used. I repaired a lighter car plug. I also had rosin core solder I bought with the soldering iron. Thank you. Thank you.

I'm just learning to solder so all ten of these tips were very helpful. Thank you for making this video.

i solder a lot on a daily basis for my electronics hobby. Have done for many years, yet your video was very informative and well presented. I subbed.

I have been doing it all wrong - thanks for the tutorial. Looking forward NOW to completing my project

Pre-tin - a big difference. Thank you!!!

A big thank you.
This is the best 6 minutes I have spent on the internet.
I have looked at other postings on this issue.
The others waster time talking about other subjects.

Thank you much, very understandable , short and to the point. i'm ready to start soldering.

Getting ready to replace some volume, tone pods and pickup selector switches. Really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

This is what all instructional videos should be like. It was quick, clear, knowledgeable, and valuable. The visual examples were good and matched what you were saying in the audio. Now show me how to solder tabs onto a very small lithium coin battery. It's a 1216.

Thank you Tyler Durden it was very helpful

I'm not interested in drones, but recently got a job involving lots of small, tight solder joints. These are great tips!

I’ve just started soldering some amplifier kits, so this is very helpful. Well done very well presented.

I'm just learning how to solder; this video is a GOLDMINE. thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

Some more tips
1) there is nothing like excess flux, even if your solder wire is fluxcore use external flux
2) if solder joint is not shiny reflow it , it will break on worst possible time ( thats where flux comes handy )
3) pay extra attention to ground pads they will suck all the heat because of the area and produce cold joints

Thanks for the tip on pre-solldering the wire and the pad~! I'm getting into Arduino and am pretty lousy at soldering, and I'm sure to put these tips to work~!

That tip about pre tinning is gold. Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much for these tips, I was attempting to make some RCA interconnects and was having a big problem with my soldering. Now that I watched your video, I see where I was going wrong.

Hello, I know it’s been a while since you posted this video. I’m just getting into soldering. Your tips were point on and to the point. Very clear explanation. I very much appreciate this video. I jumped all in and bought a hot air/soldering iron/ bolt meter station. I repair electronics but have lost so much business because the lack of soldering knowledge. You’ve explained your team tips perfect. However you left one very important detail out. Being a person with bad eyes I know I’ll need to purchase something like jewelers glasses. But what you’re wearing looks like they work really well. What are they called and where might I purchase them? Thank you so much for your awesome video! You have a new sub!

Am I the only person that gets an unusually good sense of satisfaction from a soldering well-done? I wonder why that is?

Instantly went from being discouraged, to being able to saunter thank you much love 🙏🙏

My man this is a great video. It is so concise I couldn't believe it was only ~6 minutes. I learned so much I felt it had to have been longer. Thanks for this.

Very clear presentation. Great editing, camera work, and audio. Thanks for posting, man!

I'd like to add that it is important to use good quality solder. I bought two different spools of solder on Amazon that were junk, didn't flow well into braided wires, then bought some Kester, wow what a huge improvement. Also on large wires it is good to flatten braided wire then solder onto a large pad so it makes contact with a larger surface area thus able to transfer more current plus be a stronger physical connection.

Out of all of the videos I just watched, this is the best so far. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, whoever doesn't like it just keep moving and stop criticizing people.

LoL... oh I remember my early soldering days before I knew what "PRE-TIN" meant... those were tumultuous times!!! Great video!!!!

dude thank you very easy to do things when u have the right instructions and i have wicked bad adhd so well done man, if i learned from you then anyone can. 2 of your tips solved my problem as ive never tried to solder until this year, i wasnt tinning wires and pads before trying to join them also i wasnt aware of the teperature needing to be high for a sort time those 2 things will totally make the guitars ive built work perfectly. again thank you, the four other videos i tried first just made me mad.

Nice... Thanks again!
Heats little high from what I was told. 650 f has always been good for me
But your experience is far better than mine. I'll try higher heat next time.

Awesome, improved my soldering skills

Great job and appreciate the tips. I am looking forward to seeing how I can use a pick and place machine to put LEDs on a PCB board. Has been 25 years since I went to electronics school so your tips are helping to refresh my memory. Many thanks and God Bless, Tommy Quesada from Fort Worth, TX

The thumbnail is what made me watch your video.
Just kidding. Honestly though, great tutorial and thank you for taking the time to record, edit and post it.
Cheers brother

I think the two most important hints for me are high temp for short time (versus the opposite) and heating the pad rather than the solder. I guess it seems obvious in hindsight but good to have that reinforced. I work with JFETs and other sensitive discrete audio gear so this is key.

Great tips. I’m soldering at the moment and thought I was pretty good at it but these tips have proved helpful.

Thanks for the info. I haven’t done much soldering in years and have to reattach the tonearm wires in my turntable. This is very helpful.

The best tip was right on your face, the magnifying visor is a tremendous help with small soldering.

I worked in a soldering factory for a few years. We used rosin core Kester ,the standard stuff. We didn't use soldering paste like I was instructed. We did on occasion use liquid flux when we used old oxidized inventory. At home I use rosin core and dip my tip in paste before every third or fourth cleaning wipe of the sponge. Works great.
BTW, factory soldering is done in a very different way than "the right way". The iron is held in a jig in many cases, one moves the parts and solder instead. Speed and good connection not pretty. Speed, excellent connection AND pretty get a raise !

Just about to start a new job soldering a lot of LED lighting fixtures so this is very helpful.

WOW. Very well done.. I am glad to see someone talk about pre-tinning parts/pads/wares before connecting them to each other.
I find the weakest point in a stranded wire connection is the transition between tinned and bare wire. What is the best way to prevent breaking?

3:55 best advice for me thank you so much! 👍

i loved the glasses thanks for the tips.

Never done this before, but I feel a lot more confident about trying it. Thanks!!

I've been Google schooling myself on soldering for a year or so now and yes is the first time I have around across your excellent video thank you

Excellent tips. Been using a £5 soldering iron for a few years now. Going to buy that weller iron. Thanks

Thanks for the gases tip, I wouldn’t have known otherwise!

Just what the world needs, the right info, done very well. I've been doing electrial for 60 years, get 4 the newbees. As well as us oldies.😊

Thanks man 850F turned out to be the perfect temp for me with my 18v Ryobi soldering iron. So easy now!

Thanks for this video. I think I’ve been setting my temperature too low.

I’ve got the same soldering iron!
I TOO STOLE IT FROM SCHOOL

Thanks. Been soldering 40+ years with issues. Now learning what I missed all those years.

I like this guy! Don't know much about this stuff, but he breaks it down fast enough to get you the gist without filling you with needless crap.

Excellent advice. I know this is going to immediately improve my soldering. Thanks

I love soldering.. it's therapeutic to me, as a matter of fact I enjoy building almost as much as flying almost.. lol great video Mike your the man..

Hey dude i appreciate the tips im working on fixing a dji drone and was intimated by the fact that I had to solder the board found your vid now im feelin a lil better thanks

You are very knowledgeable, not like a lot of the people who post on KRplus.
Thanks for the soldering tips as I have not been pre doping my wire ends before doing the actual job.

Thanks!! I just bought a soldering iron to save money over someone replacing my guitar pickups .

When learning any new skill, keep practicing on simple, cheap projects until you are sure you are sure of your ability to take on things you don't want to pay for twice.
This video's tips are good ones. To repeat what he said in maybe a little different way, learn to look for shiny liquid solder on both parts being connected and remove the heat as soon as this happens. Not before, not too much after. Don't let anything move until the solder cools. See that it's still smooth and shiny.
I've been doing component level electronic repair for more than fifty years. By now I pretty much know how to make good solder joints but I have to deal with the unsteadiness of age.
"A man's gotta know his limitations." - Detective Harry Callahan

Very good tutorial... Was fighting with my soldering on a drone yesterday. Today I know the temperature should have been higher.

perfect way to put an engineer on any level at ease with soldering - concise and in plain terms