# Can Brass be soldered to White Metal?



## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Can brass be soldered to white metal? If so, anything different than soldering brass to brass?


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

I am thinking your "white metal" is the soft stuff like Ozark casting? 
Absolutely! 
Just heat up both parts, and when the white metal runs away off the bench, replace it with brass, and then solder the two pieces of brass together. 

If you have a casting sprue off the white metal part you are considering soldering, just try to solder to it, oh, like a piece of wire or another sprue. 

If pot metal, 'nother can of worms, but white metal.....try what I told you with the old sprue.


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## hcampbell (Jan 2, 2008)

I recently saw an add for a low temp. solder for assembling white metal kits. 
Unfortunately, I have no idea where or who other than it was an English firm. 
This at least proves it can be done. Micro-Mark suggests copper plating pot metal before soldering. 
I think I'ld use a good epoxy. 

Harvey C.


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

While low-temp does exist and works for white metal to white metal, the heat required to bring the brass up to temperature may be too much for the adjoining components. 
I have some around here somewhere. 
Had it for 20-25 years. 
Use a match to set it. 
Then the parts separated from each other in a week or so anyway! 

That said, I have re-formed broken white metal bits with a temperature controlled iron set all the way down. 
Tricky.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally, I've had real good results with thick CA (also called gap-filling CA) for joining white metal to just about anything. Faster than epoxy, easier to work with, and forms a really strong bond provided you clean the castings first.


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

Yes brass can be solder to white metal. You will need use a low melt solder and good flux.

British and Australian modellers in O/HO/OO/P4… have many etch brass and white metal kits available. Some use glue but others use low melt solder. The majority that I know seem to prefer gluing over soldering…

I personally have only put one of these kits together and it only had a small amount of white metal. I had no troubles soldering white metal casting to the brass, but I was quick with the soldering iron.

You would also want temperature controlled soldering iron to get the best results.

The kit below is made by a South Australian Company “Model Etch.” This is the one I put together, detail parts such as the journals and some under frame sections are white metal. The sides, ends and roof are all etch brass.


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## SlateCreek (Jan 2, 2008)

I had a 30w soldering iron that I touched briefly to an Ozark casting, and rendered it a blobby ball of metal. I'm not saying it's impossible ... but with conventional equipment and technique, um, not so far as I can tell. 

Matthew (OV)


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## david bunn (Jan 4, 2008)

Yes you can but you need to experiment first, a lot.As has been said many UK kits involve white metal/brass joints and I have succesfully soldered them in the past.The trick is obviously to find just enough heat to enable the solder to stick to the brass without destroying the white metal. 
Never touch the white metal with the iron, heat the brass with the iron and let the heat pass through to the white metal.As soon as the solder flows remove the iron. 
Good luck 
Bunny


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## Budd (Mar 22, 2008)

Certainly can, low melt solder and flux and a temperature controlled soldering iron make it very easy, use a low temperature and plenty of flux, experiment on a scrap of similar (or smaller) size piece of white metal and make sure the temperature you have chosen doesn't melt the white metal.
It is wise to tin the brass piece first with regular resin cored solder and hot iron, then lower the temp, flood the area with flux and solder the parts together with low temp solder, you can virtually hold the parts with your fingers when you solder as the temperature is so low.
Don't apply the solder to the job like you would with regular solder, touch the solder with the iron and take the solder (like a large drop) to the job and providing it is clean and you have put on plenty of flux the solder will flow into the join-did I mention use plenty of flux!!!
Wash the parts with methylated spirits to wash of any excess flux (do you have methylated spirits or metho in the states?).
It really is very easy and once you get used to the technique you will find yourself using it all the time, I find it easier than regular hot soldering.
The good part is that if you get it wrong, ie wrong location, wrong way around or wrong part (trust me, it happens) you just drop the part into boiling water and it all falls apart ready to resolder.
I have used low melt solder on large scale trains as well, if the main structure of a wagon is built up with brass and regular solder you can easily solder on details with low melt and not have to worry about the rest of your wagon falling apart.
As has been mentioned, brass and white metal kits are popular here in Oztralia and pommy land in HO, OO and O scale, that SAR (South Australian Railways) sheep van pictured would have to be the finest etch metal kit ever produced, Model Etch are going to do the SAR cattle van next and that promises to be as good.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

steam5; that's a great sheep van you got there; what gauge prototype did they (or do they) run on? 

Re: white metal, can I purchase it in bulk (like bricks). I think it would make some easy metal casting in RTV molds. I cast tin but it takes hotter temps.


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks SE18, I'm very happy with it. 


The car is a South Australian Railways (SAR) SF sheep van. The prototype ran on broad gauge (some may have been converted to standard gauge but I’m not sure). They were built from the late 30’s to early 50’s and had a capacity of 80 sheep (two levels of 40).

My details on the prototype are a bit sketchy despite me living in South Australia as I model American in both HO and now Fn3.

It is an HO kit put out by Model Etch, a South Australian company who make excellent kits.

I think etch brass and white metal kits are so popular with Australia and the UK markets because you can get great detail at a low cost compared to all brass or injection moulded… therefore smaller runs of models are possible.

Alan


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

I have yet to be able to get my Weller temp contolled iron low enough to keep from having the remains run away across the workbench on me. 
Maybe I need 220VAC mains......


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## livesteam5629 (Jan 2, 2008)

1. What is the "white" metal? If low temp parts such as Ozark etc promptly forget it. If it is Zamac or a hard white metal you can get a plating kit from Micro Mark and plate the part with copper and then attempt to solder. In my HO days I used Tix low temp solder. Micro Mark carries that also. You will need the Tix Flux and Anti-Flux along with the solder. 
N


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

Noel you make a great point, I think white metal is a very generic term. 

I personally haven’t tried to solder an Ozark casting, I am currently away for work or I would give it a go. 

I’m not sure what type of white metal castings were in the sheep van... but they are soft. 


Crumudgeon, I think 220VAC mains may melt your iron before you get a chance to solder  

Alan


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