Wax Mixture?

[voodoochild]

I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly why you mix beeswax with the paraffin. What does it do?
1) Does it cut the capacitance down from straight paraffin?
2) Does it help the wax stick better?
3) Does it melt faster?
4) Does it penetrate better?

I've always used beeswax because thats what your supposed to do but I never knew why. Thanks in advance.

[Stan H]

I understood that it lowered the melting temperature.

[Zhangliqun]

It makes the wax thinner which I think makes for better penetration -- and in my opinion reduces the effect of potting on tone.

[SkinnyWire]

Paraffins have melting points in the 120-ish to 160 degree F range I think - Beeswax about 150. I think the paraffin might generally be considered as lowering the melting point of the beeswax.

The main thing the Beeswax does is "soften" the mix. Paraffin itself is rather brittle and Beeswax is rather dense and not that brittle. Adding some to the paraffin renders the mixture less brittle on hardening.

You can use either one in its "pure" state, but paraffin is about $2 to $3 a pound at Wal-Mart? Something like that? Whereas beeswax can run $8-$10 per pound or more depending on quantity. The economics of not using pure beeswax is obvious there given the standard ratio.

Beeswax burns cleaner, so if you want to stick a wick in your pickup you got that going for you if you use pure beeswax.

I traded a fellow a couple of pickups for 13 pounds of beeswax a couple of years ago (he's a bee keeper). Good to go for awhile.

[Ruel]

I have used pure paraffin without any problem so far. However, pure paraffin is brittle. Mixing some beeswax (about 20%) gives your potting wax mixture the right consistency. Makes it easier to penetrate the coil.

[NightWinder]

Pure paraffin penetrates the coil faster, which is nice sometimes as total saturation can suck the life right out. Bees wax keeps the mix softer, and keeps the coil availiable for peeling. Waxing properly is an art in itself. No detail too samll eh guys.

[Peter Naglitsch]

The Beeswax makes the pickup smell much nicer

[Possum]

paraffin...

I rewound some Van Zandts once, they use pure paraffin, inside the coil the wax turned to a powder like substance and hadn't penetrated very far, maybe they just use a light potting too, but I've seen that several times in different pickups where the paraffin gets kind of powdery inside....

[Mark Hammer]

I'm not the poster boy for best practices, but what I do is pot halfway. In other words, I wind about half the coil, get some paraffin in there, let it seep in and harden then go back to winding and melt some more paraffin when I finish the coil. Of course a) I'm not running a commercial operation so I can take my time, and b) I use a heat gun to melt the paraffin and spread it around the coil. Like I said, not the poster boy for best practices.

I gather that one is essentially always fighting the heat-sinking properties of the coil, polepieces and bobbin when potting. If the application of heat to the wax is temporary, then the wax (whether of one single type or a blend) needs to penetrate before the pickup coil/bobbin itself redirects that heat and allows the wax to cool. I get pretty good penetration with my crude halfway approach because there is less coil at that point to soak away the heat in the wax. When I put the second potting layer on, the wax faces a bigger coil, but it doesn't have to seep in quite as far either.

One man's low-tech strategy.

[David Schwab]

I don't use wax, but I found this interesting:

Pure paraffin wax is an extremely good electrical insulator, with an electrical resistivity of between 1013 and 1017 ohm meter. This is better than nearly all other materials except some plastics (notably teflon). It is an effective neutron moderator and was used in James Chadwick's 1932 experiments to identify the neutron.

For casting of metal and other materials, "investment casting waxes" are used, in which the paraffin wax is combined with several other materials to obtain the desired properties. Paraffin wax is not much used to make original models for casting, as it is relatively brittle at room temperature and usually cannot be cold-carved without excessive chipping and breaking. Soft, pliable waxes such as beeswax are preferred for these purposes. Paraffin wax (C25H52) is an excellent material to store heat, and has a typical heat capacity of 2500 J/(kg K) to 2800 J/(kg K) and a heat of fusion of 200 kJ/kg to 220 kJ/kg.

In industrial uses, it is often useful to modify the crystal properties of the paraffin wax, typically by adding branching to the existing carbon backbone chain. The modification is usually done with additives, such as EVA copolymers, microcrystalline wax, or forms of polyethylene. The branched properties result in a modified paraffin with a higher viscosity, smaller crystalline structure, and modified functional properties.

[Louie Seven]

hi ~ I hope this is a contribution....

I use a three part mixture of Bees Wax, Vanilla Candle Wax and Parafin.

No problems yet.

L7

[David Schwab]

why the candle wax? It's just paraffin. For the smell?

[Louie Seven]

Yes, I like the smell... but also cause it's so cheap. I buy those huge coffee can sized candles at garage sales for 25 cents.... etc...

Louie

[Ruel]

I vaguely remember somebody adding shoe polish to the mix instead of beeswax.
Anybody know anything about this?

[Rosewood]

Yes, I like the smell... but also cause it's so cheap. I buy those huge coffee can sized candles at garage sales for 25 cents.... etc...

Louie

I'm thinking chocolate for my next pickup....if Louie can have vanilla.
licking the excess
finger licking good
sweeter sound
Valentine pickups
ants ate my pickups
Halloween pickups

sorry, I didn't get a vacation this year.