Posted by Vic on March 12, 2003 at 18:43:00:
In Reply to: Battling the war posted by Linda Martino on March 12, 2003 at 16:16:37:
: I've taken many classes and read much material regarding hot/cold glass and it seems that teachers/authors in this industry are either vague or contradictory with instruction (an unconscious/conscious effort to weed out the weak?). Recently I took a leading class and was told that flux should not be washed off a panel after soldering. That one should continue to cement and then clean the piece. The reason given was that cleaning was unnecessary and timely. Now I just discovered while reading a book on leading that you SHOULD clean the panel after soldering or the piece will oxidize. Can you advise? Thanks!
Most flux is acid based. Acid is corrosive it needs to be neutralized. All my work is lead and I use Allen "steric" acid flux (the British refer to this flux as "tallow"). It's is a wax type flux that dries back to a wax after it cools. You then remove the residue with a wire brush. This is the BEST lead flux there is.