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I am thinking of getting back into stained glass. One of the projects I want to work on is to fix a stained glass window that has a section with a crack in it. I was given a couple soldering irons that have spent years in the basement and are rusty.

Can I use these irons? Is it safe? Are there quality concerns I should be aware of?

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  • as long as they are not damp you will be ok. The life of these might be shortened because of heat element damage.. iuf any occured. You can always get a DIY on for a few bucks
    – Piotr Kula
    Commented Nov 28, 2011 at 13:26

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My guess would be that as long as the cords look OK, I'd clean them up a bit and give them a try. Burnish and tin the tips well. Just be ready to pull the plug if they start to overheat or something.

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  • And use a sensitive plug in RCD.
    – Walker
    Commented Nov 28, 2011 at 12:44
  • Thanks. Can you provide me with advice for how to "burnish" and "tin" the tips and tell me what a "sensitive plug in RCD" is?
    – Roseaboveit
    Commented Nov 29, 2011 at 20:50
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    Burnishing is simply cleaning the tip with a very fine abrasive such as 440 or finer emery cloth. the idea is to remove all corrosion and smooth out any pits in the metal. Tinning is applying a heat transfering coat of solder to the tip. To do this, heat the clean tip, melt a bunch of solder on it and swipe it across a damp sponge. The tip should now appear bright silver and very smooth. If black spots still appear, burnish them off and re-tin.
    – shirlock homes
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 11:05
  • What is a RCD? I also have no idea what that term means.
    – shirlock homes
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 11:07
  • RCD is known as a GFCI in Canada/US
    – Steven
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 17:35

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