Good for copper, brass, bronze, steel (stainless, nickel-plated, & galvanized); ALSO SEE HERE FOR SOLDER & FLUX COMPOSITION
UPDATE 25 OCT 2017: Although the acid flux bottle says it isn't recommended for aluminum (I don't know why), it *does* work on aluminum! I Just soldered some aluminum tabs on my drill battery case and it worked perfectly! Without the acid flux no amount of heat or good rosin-core solder would make it work. Once I got some acid flux on a clean surface, however, it bonded instantly! RECOMMENDED: use an old solder tip you don't care about ruining (as always for this stuff since acid flux is corrosive), drop the acid flux on the surface to bond *first*, get solder on your iron (regular rosin-core electronics solder is fine, or acid-core should work too), and touch a hot iron to the aluminum surface. Boom! The heat causes the acid flux to eat into the surface a tiny bit and the solder on the iron sticks instantly to the aluminum surface! Wash the parts carefully when done, as able, to rinse off any remaining acid flux so it doesn't keep corroding your connections. Saved my day! ORIGINAL REVIEW 1 OCT 2016: Works on broken/frayed stainless steel bicycle cables (for brakes, shifters, etc). I have an after-market cruise control installed in my older car, since it didn't come with a cruise control. The cruise control has a small twisted stainless steel bicycle-type cable attached to my car's throttle lever to control the gas pedal. About 1.5 years ago, however, that cable broke. I had no idea how to fix it, and numerous auto repair shops said there was nothing they could do. Finally, I came across this flux and solder kit. Previous attempts at soldering any types of steel, such as that wire, were futile, as the oxidation (I think that was the problem) prevents bonding, and rosin fluxes I had did not work. One drop of this flux on the end of the cable, plus my handy 60W soldering iron, did the trick. Great flux. The container comes with a folded up piece of paper inside, which is an MSDS. It states: Stay Brite Solder Wire Composition: Ag: 3.4-3.8%, Sn: balance That means that this solder is approximately a 96.4/3.6 Sn/Ag mix. In other words, it is ~96.4% tin and ~3.6% silver. This is a high-quality lead-free solder, though I'm sure any standard solder would also work well with the flux included in this kit, such as 60/40 60% Sn (tin) / 40% Pb (lead) leaded solder, or 99.3% Sn (tin) / 0.7% Cu (copper) lead-free solder. Also from the included datasheet, and confirmed from a datasheet downloaded from the company online: Stay Clean Liquid Soldering Flux Composition: Zinc Chloride: <30% Ammonium Chloride: 5-25% Hydrochloric Acid: <5% Methanol: <5% Water: balance Making a few assumptions from the above information, that means this acid-based flux might be something like: ~30% Zinc Chloride, ~15% Ammonium Chloride, ~5% Hydrochloric Acid, ~5% Methanol, ~45% water. METALS THE FLUX IS GOOD FOR: The flux bottle states that this Stay-Clean flux is "For all soldering purposes," more particularly that it is excellent for use on copper tube, brass, bronze, stainless steel, nickel [nickel-plated steel], and galvanized [ie: galvanized steel]. It is not recommended for aluminum or electrical/electronic applications. I don't know why it is not recommended for aluminum, but I suppose it is probably not recommended for electrical/electronic applications simply because it is an acid-based corrosive flux, and might not allow the circuit to last as long as it would otherwise if the acid is left on the board. Nevertheless, if you wash the excess flux off afterwards I'm sure it's fine, and if I ever need to solder a spring-steel type battery adapter or battery-holder spring again, or any other similar crimped steel connection, I will certainly use this flux for that electrical application, as I'm not aware of any other way to get solder to bond to such materials. Acid flux is required for those cases. Happy soldering! ~Gabriel Staples ElectricRCAircraftGuy Read more











