Posted by Vic on June 26, 2003 at 19:18:31:
In Reply to: soldering old cracked lead came joints posted by tom zipp on June 25, 2003 at 21:57:11:
: I have a house with 85yr old lead came windows
: some of the lead came joints are cracked.
: how does one prepare (clean) the joints before applying solder? I have tried emery cloth.
: However, even when cleaned and after flux applied I have trouble getting the solder where I want it - a problem I did not have with new lead came joints.
: Am I not cleaning well enough ??
You need to scrape down to bright, shinny metal using a knife and use a strong zinc cloride flux. With that said. If you have alot of cracked leads, resoldering is just a temparary fix. The lead WILL crack again. It may be time to relead the window.