I usually use a Q-tip with some alcohol on it or a simple pink pencil eraser . Just blow the joint to be done first to rid the area of rubber of any wet alcohol.. Heat sink the area by using tha alligator clips as mentioned in an earlier post, this will control any excessive heat from melting your ties....
Take a scrap section of track that you have laying around, cut it a few times into several pieces, file the edges square, use the track clip connectors, and practice a few times on the scraps. Practice makes perfect.. If your Layout is huge, you will be able to get your frustrations out on your scrap pieces, rather than your entire layout. If you are a novice or a pro at soldering, this undertaking will be a very good learning experience, and time consuming..... If you find that your joints aren't working to your expectations on your sample pieces, you wont get upset. Use only a little solder - a little goes a long way.
A " cold" solder joint, meaning that you have not fully heated and cleaned your joint and will result in a very poor electrical connection and possible a dead spot on your layout. You will know a "cold" solder joint when the solder cools and appears whitish instead of a silvery splice.. You may want to invest in a desoldering bulb as well, Merely a small turkey baster designed to suck solder off of the joint.
Soldering is a practice within itself, which if done right, will result in a great feeling of satisfaction.
Also, please don't inhale the smoke...
I hope this helps -this is only the tip of the soldering area.. Research the other posts on The Gauge for other opinions on this subject to get an objective view for yourself.