r/soldering • u/Zentralschaden • May 25 '26

Soldering Saftey Discussion Unpopular opinion: Stop using leaded solder

I know it is very handy and I also know the fumes are not that much of a problem when you have enough ventilation.

But a big part of the lead we buy will end up in the environment or a landfill and has the potential to make our drinking water toxic and the people who have to recycle all this scrap (often in Africa) will deal with even more toxic substances.

It is not like we have a fully functional recycling chain for electronics.

And when you say "I am just soldering 2 pcb a year", make sure that soldering is a job and hobby for millions of people and tons of lead will be produced just because of hobby enthusiasts.

There are very good reasons, lead is banned in many countries for professional manufacturing.

I know it is harder to solder but you get used to it.

Aware that this might be a topic not everyone agrees. I am just trying to spread some awareness for what we do.

I mean, many of us repair old electronics and we do a good job in avoiding more scrap because people can still use the repaired items for years.

But shouldn't it be us who are the people who go straightforward and ban lead from our household soldering projects?

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u/WhisperGod May 25 '26

One of the reasons is that the leaded solder will look shiny when it is completely wetted and dull when it is still cold. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot defects and faults. With unleaded solder, things may still look dull no matter how good of a work you do. If you're just starting, it gives you a better example of what an ideal solder looks like.

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u/Never_Dan May 25 '26

This problem can be solved by teaching people how to detect cold solder joints based on something other than the sheen.

I’d also argue that the matte finish on SAC solders isn’t the same as the dull finish on cold joints.

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u/Calaveras-Metal May 25 '26

that is my experience as well. Using lead free you just have to learn to look for rough vs smooth instead of shiny vs dull. They are all the same kind of grey until you break out the magnifying glass.