Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Sorry to keep hounding you people with questions, but there's a decent
amount of knowledge in here. :)

I've been told that it's OK to re-grind the regular style copper
soldering tips, and I've been doing so. I usually spin them in a press
and by working up to a high grit emery cloth, I can get a nice sharp,
shiny point.

Trouble is, they turn a smoky grayish black soon after they heat up,
and they can't be flooded with clean solder, so they don't often
retain and release it properly while I'm using them.

Am I expecting too much, or is there an additional step I'm missing in
prepping them? I do remember some weird recommendation of coating with
a plumber's flux/solder and a torch, but it may not have been copper
(or a good idea for that matter).

-Thanks Again!
George