I bought a "Solder Paste". It is in quote because I'm not really sure if it's a Solder Paste itself.
I researched about what Solder Paste is and, by definition, is defined as a mixture of small solder spheres with flux. It's also grey-like in color since it has tiny solder spheres.
So, it can be directly applied to the pads of the PCB and perform reflow soldering afterwards.
But here is the actual product I bought:
As you can see, it's brown-ish in color and I don't think there are tiny solder spheres in there.
And the direction in using this is to put ample amount on the pads then apply solder with iron or torch
So my question is, is this really a solder paste or just flux?
How can I use this, then?
Best Answer
This is not the stuff to use to solder electronic boards, this is for plumbing fittings, a flux to be used in addition to stick of solder.
Electronic boards require either 'flux-cored solder' for hand use, or 'solder paste', which is a mixture of small solder balls in a suitable flux, for machine use.
This flux is likely to be too aggressive to leave on a board, and will require cleaning, otherwise it's likely to damage the board. The flux used in flux-cored solder or solder paste is designed to be compatible with the materials on a PCB, and it's usually safe to leave the residues there indefinitely.