Summertime, Summertime. . . For lacquering bobbins be the better time

[kayakerca]

Beveled the Alnico's, assembled and lacquered a handful of Strat style s/c bobbin sets this morning. I did build that fume hood rig for lacquering in the winter, but is it "ever way better" dipping and dripping outside in July than inside in January up here in the Great White North!



Never tried spray lacquering as I don't think that even the fume hood would get enough fumes out of the house so that I wouldn't still be stoned by the time my wife got home from work!

[Mark Hammer]

Damn straight. Once November rolls around, the garage door stays shut unless there is a car to move in or out, and all spraying activity ceases until May. In our case, the door to the garage is from the kitchen, so enclosing fumes within the garage is unwelcome.

[kayakerca]

Damn straight. Once November rolls around, the garage door stays shut unless there is a car to move in or out, and all spraying activity ceases until May. In our case, the door to the garage is from the kitchen, so enclosing fumes within the garage is unwelcome.

Ya, those guys that live in places like Arkansas have no idea what cold is. For them "snow" is something that goes in a paper cone with a little fruit flavoured syrup!

[copperheadroads]

Ya, those guys that live in places like Arkansas have no idea what cold is. For them "snow" is something that goes in a paper cone with a little fruit flavoured syrup!

Haha ,,,,,,......we say the same thing about people living in Southern Ontario

[kayakerca]

Haha ,,,,,,......we say the same thing about people living in Southern Ontario

I can believe that, compared to living on The Rock where a moose on the road is known as a speed bump!

[big_teee]

Ya, those guys that live in places like Arkansas have no idea what cold is. For them "snow" is something that goes in a paper cone with a little fruit flavoured syrup!

Hey are you trying to wake me up?
I've been busy working on my old hunting truck.
I rebuilt my driveshafts, and changed 3 out of 4 U-Joints.
Got to get all ready to go and chase Bambi.
Hell I can't get Copper to send me any moose meat!
Jim won't send me any smallmouth, or Walleye either.
T

[kayakerca]

Hey are you trying to wake me up?
I've been busy working on my old hunting truck.
I rebuilt my driveshafts, and changed 3 out of 4 U-Joints.
Got to get all ready to go and chase Bambi.
Hell I can't get Copper to send me any moose meat!
Jim won't send me any smallmouth, or Walleye either.
T

That's strange you didn't get the fish. I sent this 4 lb. Arctic Char to you a few weeks back in the mail. Even wrapped it in 3 layers of newspaper before I put on the address label! Sure you haven't seen any bear hanging around your mailbox?

[Bruce Johnson]

So, how long do you need to soak an Arctic Char in nitro lacquer to fully insulate it? I'm confused!

Seriously, why are you guys soaking your bobbins in nitro lacquer? What's the advantage? There are all kinds of good, tough water-based finishes available these days, which will seal and insulate at least as well as nitro lacquer, with no fumes or fire hazard at all.

My personal favorite is Target Coating's EM9000 Water-Based Polyurethane. It's crystal clear, goes on thin, is fully dry in hour or less, and it sticks real well to metal. It's recommended for coating exterior metalwork, among other things. I don't personally make Fender-style pickups, but I use the EM9000 to paint my basses, and it's tough stuff. And it's completely innocuous. You could dunk your bobbins on the kitchen table while cooking fish!

Even the Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic finish that you can get at Home Depot is good stuff for sealing and insulating. But it's formulated for brushing, so it's a little thick for dipping bobbins. Or fish.

[big_teee]

Glad to hear there are alternatives.
I'll just stick to my spray on Krylon.
It's a little fumey, but I spray outside or if Its cold I spray out the door of my shop.
It dries in minutes, and I tape the magnets anyway.
I think the guys do the nitro dipping because of the Vintage thing.
I usually don't have time to wait on the drying of the dipping Lacquer anyway!
Not politically correct, but If the magnets are taped good, I've heard it said that the magnets occassionally get tapped up or down!
T

[David Schwab]

That's strange you didn't get the fish.

He needs a fishing truck for that.

[copperheadroads]

I got to get out more often,I can't even find a pic of a bigger catch than Jim's Char to post

[kayakerca]

. . . why are you guys soaking your bobbins in nitro lacquer? What's the advantage? There are all kinds of good, tough water-based finishes available these days, which will seal and insulate at least as well as nitro lacquer, with no fumes or fire hazard at all.

Because that's how Leo did it?

Seriously for one minute though. When you see one of my posts, you have to remember that I am new to all this and a significant portion of the little that I know I have learned in my short time at this has been from this forum. Even with that, you can't learn everything and all the options over night, despite what some newer builders might imply they know. It's comments like yours (and a number of others) Bruce that help me move forward with alternative ways of looking at things and doing things. I'll give your options on the lacquering a try as soon as I work my way through my quart of lacquer. I would hate to think I built that fume hood in my shop for nothing.

After seeing the bridge pickups off the '53 and '57 Tele's in my shop that failed from what most certainly seems like moisture (most likely 60 years of sweat) rusting the Alnicos and and ultimately the windings, I am a believer that some form of sealing needs to be in place. Just not sure it if is one that you need to get high from.

[copperheadroads]

I dunk my bobbins in nitro because ?
A-Leo did it .
B-I like what Lacquer fumes does to my brane ,see
c-It dries fast & theres about a half gallon sitting in a can on the shelf
D-none of the above

[big_teee]

No Explanations required.
You dip them because you want to!
That's good enough for me.
If you want to do vintage, do vintage.
If you don't then don't.
Most of the guys that make pickups that look vintage, want to make them like they did in days of old.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Alternatives are fine, if you're looking for one, if Not Dip away in Nitro!
T

[Bruce Johnson]

Yeah, I know, I'm not trying to criticize or offend anyone.

I'm one of those radical anti-establishment new-style pro pickup builders. I only build pickups for the basses I build, which are all my own design. And so I build my pickups to any configuration that I can think up, using whatever processes and materials I want. I'm constantly experimenting with new stuff, for fun and to improve my products.

The thing is, most of the pro pickup winders on this forum are into the accurate vintage replicas of classic Fender and Gibson pickups. And that's fine. That's their market and their chosen path. But the new guys getting started and reading this forum can come away with the impression that the old-school methods and materials are the only way that you can build good pickups. That just isn't true, unless your definition of "good" is "exactly how it used to be done". In many cases, the old-school methods are more difficult and troublesome than the modern methods. As with the use of nitro lacquer in this thread.

Again, I'm not saying that the old-school methods are wrong or bad. I'm just pointing out to the new guys that they don't have to restrict themselves to those rules. There are lots of good alternatives out there for making pickups. Some not yet discovered.