I managed to find some Oatey #95 solder paste at Home Depot, so on top working on my tinned belt plates (they came out so-so...a bit uneven, but i'm going to stamp them anyway, they should be ok), I took the pieces I am using for my buckle and frogs, and tinned some spots on them. Turned out well...and Edge is right, you can't really use the Oatey for smooth flat plates...just doesn't work lol. Works really well on small areas though!
My observations have been generally that selective silvering/tinning was not super accurate- there is often some evidence of incomplete coverage overflowing of edges, etc., so even if yours aren't perfect Matt, that's probably more correct in the end :wink:
Really? Well that's good...teh solder spilled onto one of the frog arms, and on some of the buckle. 8)
Well that you could rub off with some steel wool if it bothers you...
Naaaaa, they are ruined, better send them to me for disposal..... :twisted:
Hahahaha...i'll get right on that Byron.
I think I'll leave it Matt...besides, if these came out perfect no-one would believe I made them. :lol:
One of the tricks to using Oateys on large flat surfaces, and we've had plenty of experience, is to wipe with a damp cloth while the tin is hot. We've also reheated the entire seg plate and wiped with a damp cloth in order to redistribute the tin where it built up .
Oatey's makes two kinds of tinning paste. (They hide it in the plumbing section, far away from the belt plate and pugio frog aisle!) One has an oily base that can leave ooky crud flux residue, the other water based. I bought some of the latter, but have not experimented with it yet.
Oateys #95 leaves a flux residue that gets mostly wiped off when you use a damp cloth on the hot tin and can be cleaned off completely with dish soap and water or a degreaser.
Yeah...I found "blowing" on the plate while it's still hot enough to make the flux a liquid, will remove most of the flux. Then I use varsol then soap and water to get it off.
I just finished tinning a couple of flat brass sheet pieces...2" X 3.5" with two coats of the oatey, and it turned out fantastic. Got the heat a bit hot on the one so it's not quite as smooth on one spot, but what a difference. I found I didn't have to wipe this stuff with a damp rag in order to make it smooth like I did using the silver solder. I'm going to go stamp all my plates today, but depending on how the ones I used the silver solder on, I may re-do another set with just the oatey.
And believe it or not, but that bottom plate is actually shiny!
Really nice job, Matt, wel done!