If you’ve ever messed around with a car’s electrical system or fitted toys like auxiliary lights and winches, you may be familiar with the art of soldering– splicing wires together. It’s not hard, but there are a lot of tricks to learn to perfect the art and this video seems to cover every single one.

Since I just happened to start experimenting with solder myself for the first time , I just finished cramming a bunch of YouTube tutorials on the subject and this one is unequivocally better. It’s clear, concise, comprehensive and really makes me wish I hadn’t bothered sitting through any others.

has been one of my favorites for a long time. The disembodied voice hosting it does a really good job explaining basic-but-essential automotive maintenance techniques in language that’s easy to understand. Since almost everything is filmed from the “mechanic’s” first-person point of view, the videos on this channel also make work steps clear to reference against your own project.

This video quickly takes you through:

Applications of solder (permanent installation of electrical accessories.)

Tools required (available at your local auto parts, hardware shop or RadioShack if it still exists.)Safety (watch out it’s hot! Also toxic.)

How to hook wires together (which type of splice to use and when.)

Specific types of solder (not all are created equal, but always wash your hands after handling.)

Secrets you might not know even if you’d done this before (don’t use acidic flux.)

Tips to improve survivability (silicone paste-wrap your solder job!)

And the finishing touch (heat-shrinking wrap.)

The basic steps of a soldering project go:

First, strip your wires.

Then slip some heat-shrink tubing further back the wire (but not over your stripped-section yet.

Add some flux to the wires.

Splice the wires.

Actually solder the wires– heat up the splice and melt the solder itself onto the connection.

And finally, paste your wires and shrink the heat-shrink tubing around the connection.

The first time I tried this, without reading any directions, I just melted the solder on top of a couple poorly-laced wires and didn’t really make anything more than a chrome turd.

This tutorial does a great job explaining all the nuances of the process. And really makes me nervous about eating after I played with that solder. I mean, I think I washed my hands?

Another pro tip I’ll throw in– practice this skill before you need it. Every little project is a lot less stressful when you’re playing around, and that will make you better when you need to properly wire something up in a pinch.