Soldering Question
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 823
Likes: 4
From: Calais, Vermont
Soldering Question
Hi all. I posted this in the old truck forum and didn't get any advice that I could use. I am hoping that maybe someone down here in Paint and Bodywork might also have a handle on soldering mild steel to copper. The radiator is in otherwise great condition, and all I want to do is fix a loose solder joint. Here's the original post:
I was hoping that all I'd have to do with the radiator on my old 53 F-100 was clean it up and squirt some fresh paint black paint on it. But, there's a little work to do first. While the core and top and bottom reservoirs are in okay shape, there are steel sheet metal "frames" soldered to the reservoirs which are the metal pieces that are used for mounting the radiator to the truck and bolting the fan shroud to. One of these metal farmes has come unsoldered to the bottom reservoir. I've never soldered mild steel before. I'm assuming that I have to sandblast the steel to get it spotless at the point where the solder connection is made. But is there a trick to this? Should the steel be "tinned" first? What kind of solder should be used? Is it a starightforward task, or is there a mystery to the process that passed away with all the radiator repair shops of yesteryear? Lastly, I remember reading in the paint and body work forum here about sheetmetal adhesives. If anyone has experience with these adhesives, my question is: would that work in this radiator repair application? Thanks.
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I was hoping that all I'd have to do with the radiator on my old 53 F-100 was clean it up and squirt some fresh paint black paint on it. But, there's a little work to do first. While the core and top and bottom reservoirs are in okay shape, there are steel sheet metal "frames" soldered to the reservoirs which are the metal pieces that are used for mounting the radiator to the truck and bolting the fan shroud to. One of these metal farmes has come unsoldered to the bottom reservoir. I've never soldered mild steel before. I'm assuming that I have to sandblast the steel to get it spotless at the point where the solder connection is made. But is there a trick to this? Should the steel be "tinned" first? What kind of solder should be used? Is it a starightforward task, or is there a mystery to the process that passed away with all the radiator repair shops of yesteryear? Lastly, I remember reading in the paint and body work forum here about sheetmetal adhesives. If anyone has experience with these adhesives, my question is: would that work in this radiator repair application? Thanks.
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Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 823
Likes: 4
From: Calais, Vermont
I was able to do it myself. After cleaning up the two areas that join to make the solder connection, I observed that here was still a lot of solder remaining on both surfaces. So, I just heated the metals and got a good connection. Another of the thousand of little jobs done...
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,214
Likes: 13
From: New Jersey
There is a product that makes it very easy... even with a propane torch.
www.durafix.com
or www.muggyweld.com
Both have metal solder of different types, and repairing thinner materials used in radiators an absolute snap.
www.durafix.com
or www.muggyweld.com
Both have metal solder of different types, and repairing thinner materials used in radiators an absolute snap.
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