soldering iron become black

[delroy]

I have a 25watt weller soldering iron and whenever i am about to solder i always clean the tip but it gets black before i even start to use it -that makes
soldering very diffcult!!! what is happening here?
(1)do i need a better brand iron or tip?
n:B the tip is made of copper.

[Al_Dodge_Bundy]

I'll always dip new tips in a bit of solder. So the tip gets a protective coating.

Also, when cleaning the tip, just clean it with a wet sponse, or peach of fabric.

You should not clean it so hard, you can see the copper again.

Grtz Mark

[minnie]

I use a wet sponge.