I recently purchased a new soldering station (Aoyue 936). This is my first relatively good quality soldering tool, so I want to ensure I maintain it properly.

My question relates to tinning the tip once I am done using it. The manual which came with my product says:

"When you are not using your iron, make sure you leave a large lump of solder on the tip. This maintains the tinning of the tip, and the tip will last much longer."

However, after substantial reading around the internet, I can't find any such suggestion for tip maintenance. So my question is, when I'm done soldering and am putting it away for storage, do I simply melt a big glob of solder on the tip and put it away, or melt solder on the top, wipe it off on the sponge, and then store it.

Note: When I try the latter method, the tip initially looks shiny, but after a minute, it gains a slight copper colored tint.

I recently purchased a new soldering station (Aoyue 936). This is my first relatively good quality soldering tool, so I want to ensure I maintain it properly.

My question relates to tinning the tip once I am done using it. The manual which came with my product says:

"When you are not using your iron, make sure you leave a large lump of solder on the tip. This maintains the tinning of the tip, and the tip will last much longer."

However, after substantial reading around the internet, I can't find any such suggestion for tip maintenance. So my question is, when I'm done soldering and am putting it away for storage, do I simply melt a big glob of solder on the tip and put it away, or melt solder on the tip, wipe it off on the sponge, and then store it.

Note: When I try the latter method, the tip initially looks shiny, but after a minute, it gains a slight copper colored tint.