# Impossible to solder enamelled wire!



## keiron99

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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## soloz2

a temp controlled soldering iron can melt the enamel off, or a solder pot, which is easiest.


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## keiron99

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *soloz2* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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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## xnothingpoetic

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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## keiron99

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *xnothingpoetic* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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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## FallenAngel

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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## cyberspyder

Or you can sand it iff with sandpaper, or scrap it off with an exacto knife.


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## ericj

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *keiron99* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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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## splaz

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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## Budgie

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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## Punnisher

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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## Uncle Erik

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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## soloz2

my 700f solder pot does the trick nicely.


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## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Budgie* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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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## rembrant

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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## MrKazador

I have used a 45w desoldering iron from radioshack.


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## qusp

doing it with a solder pot or a 'solder pot' on te ecnd of your iron works like a charm, I do that for my cardas tonarm wire and tht actually the way they recpommend to do it. also has the advantage of 'tinning' the stripped wires as well.


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## chobint

When reterminating my HD650's, the wires were still a little resistant to solder after de-enameling.

 And also, BE CAREFUL with a jet type lighter. A standard bic lighter can be hot enough to melt those tiny wire strands, let alone a SuperJet 5000XL


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## arielCo

+1 on the solder-pot trick. Here's my variation:
   
  I set my cheap 50 W iron from Parts Express to the max, then lay it on a table so that the screw that holds the tip faces up. Then I melt a bit of solder on the (phillips) head of the screw; it may not flow into it but rather make a bead (see the pic). Then it's just a matter of dipping each tip into the ball until you see it catch the solder when your hand naturally bobs up and down.
   

   
   
  Use tweezers or a long nose plier if the heat is uncomfortable on your fingers or if you are afraid of melting the plastic above (they work as a heat sink).


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## Rescue Toaster

When I did a ton of 20 gauge enamel hookup wire for my old headphone amp, I took a cheap rat shack soldering gun (with the loop element and trigger), and put a blob of solder right in the 'nook' of the heating element, and used that to burn off the enamel. It heats up in only like 5-10 seconds and takes the enamel off instantly. And then I'm not getting burnt enamel garbage on my good soldering tips.


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## TimmyMac

Those wires with the fibres in them are super hard to solder for some reason.  I struggled with my westone UM2s for a long time.


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## arielCo

Quote: 





timmymac said:


> Those wires with the fibres in them are super hard to solder for some reason.  I struggled with my westone UM2s for a long time.


 

 I can resume my recent trouble tinning these wires in two challenges:

 *Need more heat!* Apparently a typical 25W solder won't harm the varnish quickly enough.
 *Ash is your enemy*. Rosin from the solder, flux and the varnish on the wire all turn into ash and ruin the copper surface.
   
  Supplying additional heat is easy with a bigger iron; apparently *40-50 W* is good enough and you should have one of those handy for soldering to chassis or thick wires.
   
  About the &*%#ø ash:

 *Use the solder to melt the varnish*. It will displace the varnish before it burns, and tin the wires at once through surface tension. Also, already-molten solder doesn't add ash from the rosin core. Nix the flux too.
 *Dip the wire vertically*. If you apply the solder sidways *to* the wire, ash will form on the other side. If you don't have a solder pot (most of us don't), hold a blob the size of a pinhead on a flat tip or use the side screw as in the photo above.
 *Trim the plastic fibers* before you start. Less ash.
   
  (I wish I'd known this before wasting 1-1/2 inches of the length to my right bud)


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## pdaves

The aspirin trick works like a charm! And be sure not to breathe the smoke! It's awful!


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