One issue with many soldering stations is any temperature display is way off in calibration. That results in either insufficient heat or way too much heat. One of the reasons I like my Hakko FX-888D soldering station is the fact that it has a calibration feature. I can use the FG-100 calibrator to set the exact tip temperature and have it matched to the digital display. That way when I dial in 500F, I know that's really what I'm getting.
For surface mount parts, I use 500F (260C), for thru-hole I usually kick it up a bit to around 550F (290C).
