Someone who writes for @hackaday should write "Crusty Temu Soldering Tips Make Soldering Aluminum A Breeze" so I can watch the comments section figure out why this works, please
@North it's just using the tip as abrasive, isn't it?
@noiob I guess it's possible. Although, abrading the surface and using the same flux-core solder before the tip is "prepared" as in the video doesn't seem to yield the same results. I guess scraping and "burning" the tip could make it more abrasive. It would be more entertaining to find out that there's a metallurgical reason (like the flux in the solder reducing the heat-oxidized alloy on the cheap solder tip and that metal either alloying to the solder mix or acting as an intermediate layer)
@North I suspect abrading the material while soldering helps, not sure how fast aluminium corrodes but a few seconds might already make a difference