vintage wax saturation....

[Possum]

If you've ever rewound a vintage strat pickup notice how they are caked in wax and solidly potted to the core. I like the look of the glossy wax coating and have figured out a way to replicate that look but its a slow time consuming method and want to think about another way. How the heck did Fender do it? If you pot a strat coil heavy formvar, take it out give it a brief wipe and let it cool the wax sinks into the coil and leaves no surface coating. I've tried leaving it in a long time and nothing changed. You can't just leave it in a short time or it doesn't pot all the way through and still won't get a heavy wax coat. Anybody got a grandma who manned the potting bucket back then?

[madialex]

I messed with it some too and for me the best result came with a larger bees wax ration than paraffin....

[jonson]

build up

bit like lacquer or candles! let the whole thing dry out and give it another dip at slightly lower temp quick in and out sort of thing to lay an outer layer on there. jonson

[Possum]

...

I don't see any evidence that bees wax was used. A second dip also coats the magnets so that doesn't work either. Still a mystery, such a simple thing too....

[David Schwab]

Have you ever read Fender's patent on wax potting? I saw it once, but I didn't save a copy. I wonder if they outline a particular method?

[Joe Gwinn]

Have you ever read Fender's patent on wax potting? I saw it once, but I didn't save a copy. I wonder if they outline a particular method?

It's 4,885,970. Leo was going for function, not aesthetics.

[David Schwab]

I didn't realize that patent was so recent.

[Possum]

...

Yeah I don't know why he even patented it, its pretty useless and every major pickup maker violated it anyway. there's no details anyway, people have been potting in wax going back to the turn of the century.

[Chuck H]

Time and pressure. You have to keep the patrs and the wax at a temp that will give the wax a suitable viscosity to saturate, but at a low enough temp no to damage parts, and leave it there fo a while. Balance Grasshopper.

Chuck

[Possum]

...

I have to put grasshoppers in the wax? I've probably let the temp get a little high, I'll try dropping it down some and see what happens, maybe a little garlic to go with the grasshoppers...

[Spence]

Possum, post a photo of what you have there. I'm sure I can help.

[Chuck H]

Not sure how comercial potting is done. But for doing it at home I just had an idea. If you melt the wax in a pressure cooker (not under pressure of course) and can keep it at a steady temperature, you could then dunk your bobbins, pop on the lid and hook a vacuum pump to the little nipple on the lid. Pump out the air and any that is in the coils will evacuate to replace it. There, nice void and air pocket free potting.

Just an idea

Chuck

[Possum]

....

OK, it was temperature being too hot. I lowered it down to about 138 degrees, you can actually put yer finger in it and it doesn't burn, removing the pickup leaves a nice thick coating on the coil and dries real fast. Mystery solved. Thanks Spence and Same Lee Guy.

Wouldn't want to do it this way on everything but for vintage look it works....

[shane1b4u]

Wax potting in the kitchen...

I use one of the wifes big pans.. maybe 12 inches round, 5 inches tall, filled about 3/4 with water... I took a few feet of solid #10, bare, copper wire and fashioned a spider web looking rack that honestly, if I wasn't careful, I could drop a pickup right through... then I twisted on 4 4inch peices of the wire to make 4 hooks coming off of the sides of it, I hook these onto the top of the pan and adjust so that the flat spider web is about 1 inch below the top of the water...turn on the fire, put in my little pan of wax.... maybe 5 inches round and 3 inches tall, let the wax melt, I use the handy meat thermometer to see when the wax hits 160 degrees, then I turn off the flame, set the pickup in, let it sit at least 5 min, 10 or 15 is ok... while it is in, I tear a peice of aluminum foil off, about 12 inch by 12 inch, this I form into a crude bowl just a guestimate bigger than the pickup, pull the pickup out and put directly into the foil, (by the way I do the strat coils with the cover on.) and quickly smash the foil tightly around the pickup, then set it to cool front face down... if in a hurry you can put under cold running water, the coil and magnets take awhile to cool though... take off the foil, wipe wax off with a dry clean cloth, makes them look really shiny too...

[chevalij]

I and quickly smash the foil tightly around the pickup, then set it to cool front face down... if in a hurry you can put under cold running water, the coil and magnets take awhile to cool though... take off the foil, wipe wax off with a dry clean cloth, makes them look really shiny too...

What's the purpose of the foil ? I don't get it. Is it just to hold extra wax around the pickup?