Soldering to homemade pcb...

[Ronsonic]

3M Scotchbrite pads (however they spell it) the green, gray scratchy things. Don't shed magnetic particles that imbed in softer materials and rust like steel wool does and cleans boards, component leads and makes a great gripper for pulling hot tubes.

[Brymus]

Sorry, didn't mean to seem argumentative or sharp there. If it's really bad, clean it. Apparently hot flux does a good job - I have a container of it for small electrical work like we do, so I imagine you should be able to find some.

Jacob

No offense taken.I was just saying some of my stuff might be beyond just adding flux.
Sorry if I seemed defensive,I am just direct, no hostility intended 

Mark > I think you hit the nail on the head,very good understanding,I can tell you know exactly what I am talking about, and excellent advice.
I hadn't thought of using an exacto to scrape away the oxidation,
And honestly it hadnt dawned on me, that some of my problems were related to using older components > until I saw the example in that video
and realized that when I have trouble with my soldering its because the leads are extremly oxidized from sitting in a warehouse for years before sitting in my place until I use them.
I just bought a bunch of Orange Drops/M150s at ridicules low prices and they all have leads that are so oxidized it looks like they have been galvanized.
Which again it wasnt registering until I watched that video...