If you take a breaks from soldering do you need to clean it right away or is flux okay to sit?
Fluxes are mild acids. If left a long time, they will corrode the copper foil – not enough to damage it, but enough that the solder will not take to the foil as it should. A long time is measured in days rather than hours.
If the flux has been left overnight, it probably will be OK. The test is whether the solder flows as it did before the interruption. If it does not, then the flux needs to be cleaned off the foil, and the foil polished with steel wool before re-fluxing.
Liquid flux needs to be used before it dries to be active. Any interruption which will be long enough to allow the flux to become dry will mean a clean up of the surface is necessary before leaving the piece for a day or more.
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