I have a question regarding the re-soldering of joints. We have a S.S. L.C.C. about 8-10 years old with cracked joints. Some of these have been re-soldered this year and have cracked again. There are some places with patina stains at the bottom of a panel at the wide gutter.
1) Is it possible to re-solder?
2) What is needed to do it right?
3) Are the patina stains indicative of water under the panel?
Is that a ridge? If so, I'd cut both sides loose and do a SS in the center, and an unsoldered FL on both sides. I can't tell what I'm looking at. Large soldered panels can split no matter how well they are soldered.
So,are they fixable?
It looks like they never fully sweated the joint in the first place. The other thing I suspect is to much movement. There has to be a lot force on those seams with all those seams coming together like that
I have photos, but have never created a photo album. How do I do that?
You must polish the joints, then you must clean ,with high heat and hydrochloric acid (HCI), the joints. This is the way to burn out the dirt between the both copper sheets. Now you can solder the joint, like new, with hydrochloric acid again.. It`s a shitty and stinky work, but if you do it right the joints will hold the next ten years also.
Take care Martin
The only thing that will work is to polish an area above and below the joints. Size of area will depend on what works best for you. Then, cut the middle area out and put in a new section of panel, flat-locked, and sweat the seams this time. sweated seams don't crack. Keep the iron well away from the front edge of the seam! http://www.albertsroofing.com/Solder%20Details.htm
Your link is broken, can't see pictures. Old lead coated copper that was not soldered right the first time will be almost impossible to solder the second time and get a good bond. See the problem is the flux is in the joint and it corrodes and can pit the metal inside the seam if it's not sweated correctly the first time. Lead coated is hard to do on a good day. Fix the link and let me see it and I might come up with something. Standing seam usually does not need any soldering so I can't figure what it is your doing.