Solder not flowing

[Fungi]

I don't know what's going on, but my solder just isn't flowing. It's Wonder Solder 0.031" and I tried every temperature from 390F to 800F, it melts but just blobs on the iron and stuff. I was able to desolder some previously connected wires, but I can't tin my new ones. I'm thinking the solder is bad (I bought this new since I used up the last batch of Wonder Solder I had is used up) but any other insight is appreciated. I'd really like to get going on these projects I've had on hold for too long.

[luvdunhill]

usually this is due to a dirty tip. Is this tip "wet" i.e. nice and shiny, or dull? If the latter, than scrub it hard on the wet sponge, tin, repeat 10 times or so. If this doesn't help, then you may need to sand down the tip a bit (perferably using a approved device by your iron maker), or get a new tip all together.

[Fungi]

That's the thing, I get the same issue with a brand new tip.

[luvdunhill]

perhaps the iron isn't heating up enough? Bad heating element? Bad solder is unlikely, but go buy some of the $1 stuff from Rat Shack and see how that works.

[Fungi]

I'll go steal some from a friend, but for now I'm baffled as to why it's doing this. I had no issues at all when I did this back home.

I think it's heating up properly, because when I turn the heat up all the way the tip oxidizes like crazy; it turns blue!

[Fungi]

I always put it on my eyeball, like Tangent said to do.

[Pars]

Good... good...

oh wait, you can't read this anymore, can you?

[JBLoudG20]

[Beefy]

Insert funny pic here.

Funny..... but I was thinking more along the lines of this:

[Fungi]

I'm too young for viagra

And flux: I thought that too, but Wonder Solder has rosin flux inside, and I had no problem at all the last time I used it. It really was wonderful.

[Fing]

Try heating the area to be soldered up a bit.

I was having problems getting solder to flow onto the parts that needed it, so I just heated up the wire a bit before sticking the solder on.

[Fungi]

Try heating the area to be soldered up a bit.

I was having problems getting solder to flow onto the parts that needed it, so I just heated up the wire a bit before sticking the solder on.

I left my iron on the wire for a good few seconds and nothing. What I was seeing was either bad iron (don't think so, because when I desoldered some wire from a little driver tab that solder melted fast) or bad solder (I'm beginning to suspect this is the case, because I can't even tin my iron properly; it just gobs on the tip without flowing and turns nasty dull).