solder paste - Is it important to file a new soldering iron tip before tinning?

I bought a cheap soldering iron. After reading articles and watching videos, I learnt that cheap irons get their resistor burnt easily. And many a times the iron becomes black as soon as you start heating it and then it cannot be tinned.

I am afraid that if I do not do everything right I will burn my iron too. So I just want to be sure that,

1. Should I tin my iron first as written everywhere or file it?

I have also got soldering paste and one meter silver coated solder.

2. Should I first apply the soldering paste on the iron then heat it for tinning?

Update

Here is the iron. It does not look like pure copper but the cover says its pure copper.

So now that I have shared the final discription of my problem. Please tell me if your opinions about filing it have changed.

Thanks to all of you for helping.

Answer

Never file a soldering tip. Filing it will remove the protective layer, allowing the metal underneath to be eaten away by solder resulting in permanent damage over time. Tin it immediately once it first starts heating up, and every few times you use it as required.