Tin has long been used in alloys with lead as solder, in amounts 5 to 70% w/w. Tin forms a eutectic mixture with lead in the proportion 63% tin and 37% lead. Such solders are primarily used for joining pipes or electric circuits. Since the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive came into effect on 1 July 2006, the lead content in such alloys has decreased. Replacing lead has many problems, including a higher melting point, and the formation of tin whiskers causing electrical problems.

Tin bonds readily to iron and is used for coating lead, zinc and steel to prevent corrosion. Tin-plated steel containers are widely used for food preservation, and this forms a large part of the market for metallic tin. A tinplate canister for preserving food was first manufactured in London in 1812. Speakers of British English call them “tins”, while speakers of American English call them “cans” or “tin cans”. One derivation of such use is the slang term “tinnie” or “tinny”, meaning “can of beer”. The tin whistle is so called because it was first mass-produced in tin-plated steel.

Tin in combination with other elements forms a wide variety of useful alloys. Tin is most commonly alloyed with copper. Pewter is 85–99% tin; Bearing metal has a high percentage of tin as well. Bronze is mostly copper (12% tin), while addition of phosphorus gives phosphor bronze. Bell metal is also a copper-tin alloy, containing 22% tin. Tin has sometimes been used in coinage; for example, it once formed a single-digit percentage (usually five percent or less) of American and Canadian pennies. Because copper is often the major metal in such coins, sometimes including zinc, these could be called bronze and/or brass alloys.

The niobium-tin compound Nb3Sn is commercially used in coils of superconducting magnets for its high critical temperature (18 K) and critical magnetic field (25 T). A superconducting magnet weighing as little as two kilograms is capable of the magnetic field of a conventional electromagnet weighing tons.

A small percentage of tin is added to zirconium alloys for the cladding of nuclear fuel.

Most metal pipes in a pipe organ are of varying amounts of a tin/lead alloy, with 50/50 being the most common. The amount of tin in the pipe defines the pipe’s tone, since tin has a desirable tonal resonance. When a tin/lead alloy cools, the lead cools slightly faster and produces a mottled or spotted effect. This metal alloy is referred to as spotted metal. Major advantages of using tin for pipes include its appearance, its workability, and resistance to corrosion.

Punched tin-plated steel, also called pierced tin, is an artisan technique originating in central Europe for creating housewares that are both functional and decorative. Decorative piercing designs exist in a wide variety, based on local tradition and the artisan’s personal creations. Punched tin lanterns are the most common application of this artisan technique. The light of a candle shining through the pierced design creates a decorative light pattern in the room where it sits. Lanterns and other punched tin articles were created in the New World from the earliest European settlement. A well-known example is the Revere lantern, named after Paul Revere.

Before the modern era, in some areas of the Alps, a goat or sheep’s horn would be sharpened and a tin panel would be punched out using the alphabet and numbers from one to nine. This learning tool was known appropriately as “the horn”. Modern reproductions are decorated with such motifs as hearts and tulips.

In America, pie safes and food safes were in use in the days before refrigeration. These were wooden cupboards of various styles and sizes – either floor standing or hanging cupboards meant to discourage vermin and insects and to keep dust from perishable foodstuffs. These cabinets had tinplate inserts in the doors and sometimes in the sides, punched out by the homeowner, cabinetmaker or a tinsmith in varying designs to allow air circulation while excluding flies. Modern reproductions of these articles remain popular in North America.

Window glass is most often made by floating molten glass on molten tin (float glass), resulting in a flat and flawless surface. This is also called the “Pilkington process”.

Tin is also used as a negative electrode in advanced Li-ion batteries. Its application is somewhat limited by the fact that some tin surfaces catalyze decomposition of carbonate-based electrolytes used in Li-ion batteries.

Tin(II) fluoride is added to some dental care products[71] as stannous fluoride (SnF2). Tin(II) fluoride can be mixed with calcium abrasives while the more common sodium fluoride gradually becomes biologically inactive in the presence of calcium compounds. It has also been shown to be more effective than sodium fluoride in controlling gingivitis.