Bob, I find that if I use cheap off brand solder that no matter what temperature, technique, or tool I used the results are poor.
Kester, Ersin, and even Radio Shack solder all work fine.
In addition the the diameter makes a difference at times. In general, the larger the piece you want to solder the larger the solder.
Heat the terminal and the wire and apply the solder. On larger work such as this, take 2 to 3 seconds to heat. apply solder for one second, keep heating to allow the solder to flow for about one more second.
The joint must not move while it is cooling.
The joint should not have pointy parts sticking out
For more elaborate instructions, with pictures try
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/a really nice video is here:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=how+to+solde r&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&a mp;a mp;a mp;resnum=4&ct=title#