Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing dissolving soft solder

Is there a way to dissolve soft solder off of steel?

Heat. A pretty fair amount of it.

All flippancy aside, I don't know of any chemical that'll dissolve solder. I would think something that nasty would effect the steel also.

Unless it has ended up on a firearm as some sort of accident it isn't likely a temperature rating of solder you are going to pick up in the average chain department store either.

I just don't want it to end up in my bluing tank.

I believe the lye part of the bluing salts eats soft solder by attacking the tin. So you could try a hot, concentrated lye solution after removing most of the solder mechanically. I have not done this so test first.

(Will a little solder ruin bluing salts? Lye is in there mainly to control the boiling point.)

Is it the barrels of a double barreled shotgun? If so, the hot blue solution will cause the solder to to turn loose. Maybe by disolving the tin as mentioned above, but it will cause the barrels to seperate.

I have often wondered how gunmakers removed excess solder from double rifles and shotguns. The barrels and ribs are soft soldered togather, with, I think 50-50 resin core solder, and it has to get almost all over the barrels where they are joined.

The solder would have to be removed before the barrels could be blued, even rust blued, and I wonder how they remove it.

I think they might use a scraper to remove most of it, but there is probably some residue left.

the best way to get the solder off is heat unless it on a rib of a double and if it is someone did a sloppy job use a propane torch then wipe it off with a wet rag it its in blued metal it should slide right off but i magine you are working with a spot where a sight was soldered on the barrel and plan on using touch blue to cover the bare metal.it it a rib get it ro someone who knows what they are doing the way you keep it from getting where you dont want it i use soap stone in the bare metal when soldering sight on barrels it will not attach and is a quick clean up. now a isuue raised with the hot bath blue it will remove sight that are soft soldered almost every time that why most dobles are rust blued ih it its on blued metal use a wood scraper and it sshould come right off for you

Another trick is to use a pencil to shade the areas next to the joint where you don't want solder to stick. Solder won't stick to graphite.

It is inside, in the barrel threads of the receiver. I've got it out and threaded a new barrel in, but would like a "dip" to remove all traces.

Small steel wire brush?

I was thinking on it. Got a head ache and had to quite.

If you can MASK the surrounding area,......BEAD BLAST the stuff away.

BTDT,.....a little patience is required, but that works.

GTC

i agree with the steel brush on a drill should work great