Ah finally a kind soul. I had almost forgot i put this post out there.
Randyman, the 10ga is heavy and YES conducts heat quite well away from tip of the wire.
Second, i do not have access to a Weller gun, just the solder 'pen' 25W. My father has done a ton of soldering in his day (everything from building houses to owning a Radio Shack) and he said he's never used anything but a regular 25W pen. It has taken me some practice but ya, if i spent the extra $80 i imagine a gun would probably have heated the area more effectively more quickly.
Third, i will give the scraping a try next time. The companies probably use an oil based anti-oxidant compound which i may also be able to remove with some isopropanol. THanks for the tip.
I'll let you know how it goes.
