Can't help you with the latex, but as for soldering stainless steel: you need a different flux, one that is highly acidic. Problem is, such a flux is hard to find. In the past, there were quite a few on the market. I've tried mixing hydrochloric acid (AKA muratic acid) with liquid flux, and it works OK, but not really very well. If anyone has a source of a good flux, I'd like to know, too.
Steve Maas Long Beach, California
Michael Wilkinson wrote:
> But Mike, it is February! Ok, I was about to post a question to the list
> regarding liquid latex supplies for protecting the cotton casing sidewalls
> of my stash of sewups... I had just checked Branford Bike who used to carry
> a product just for this use but it was no longer listed on their website.
> What to do?
>
> Then I remembered, I bought some liquid latex from a costume store to finish
> off last years "Emergency Room Doctor bitten by a Vampire" costume and dug
> it out. My only concern was it was flesh colored so I wasn't to sure if it
> would look good or just bite :) Anyway, with tan sidewalls it was perfect.
>
> I have couple of questions. First, where are the cheap sources for liquid
> latex? Second, this has been some frustration for me for awhile. When
> finishing cable ends, I usually solder them instead of crimping. But, I have
> found when dealing with stainless steel, teflon coated, slick cables my
> solder just runs off.
>
> I use flux and with galvanized cables the solder will suck right into the
> cable strands and stick very well.
>
> What am I doing wrong here? Do I need a different solder? Just using
> lead/tin - not sure on percentage.
>
> Mike Wilkinson
> Castle Rock, CO
> _______________________________________________
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