“Tinning” is the application of a thin covering of solder on your soldering tip in.
To tin your soldering iron tips, firstly heat your iron to the required temperature. Make sure to clean your soldering iron tip by wiping off any old solder using a sponge or brass wire cleaning pad. Finally, apply some new solder to all sides of the tip until it looks smooth and shiny all over.
Try to solder immediately after tinning the tip for best results. When you have finished soldering, apply a little solder to the tip before turning the soldering iron off. If you keep your soldering iron tip tinned it will last longer and have improved conductivity making soldering quicker and easier.
If you’re working with a new soldering tip you need to make sure it's primed for use. “Tinning” is the application of a thin covering of solder on your soldering tip.
Proper tinning will eliminate corrosion from extreme heat on the tip and ensure an effective coating of solder when working. The oxidation that occurs when you fail to tin disrupts the alloying process and creates poor solder connections or cold joints.
Tinning the tip improves conductivity, making soldering quicker and easier. Some components are heat sensitive so the quicker you can solder them, the less likely they are to be heat damaged.
Even when your soldering iron is not in use, you should keep a layer of solder on the tip.