DIY Pickup Wax Potting

optimus_prime_1985 · August 31, 2005, 12:43:23 AM

Anyone try wax potting your pickups at home? I"ve got a microphonic set of gibsons in my sg. I love the sound of them but would like to cut down the microphonics.

Fret Wire · August 31, 2005, 03:30:07 AM

I've done quite a few. Nothing hard. More messy than complicated. A few good links on potting in this thread:
http://diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?p=256536&highlight=#256536

aron · August 31, 2005, 04:14:19 AM

I used to try on my old Fender guitars but I had so much gain/distortion going that I think it didn't matter.

Nasse · August 31, 2005, 04:31:41 AM

I successflly did a beeswax job for two old mini-humbucker sized Hofner single coil mics. I tried to avoid too much heat. I think some part of the noise was coming from the whole coil assembly and screw pole pieces being a little loose. The mic back plate made of thin brass was too thin I believe so I soldered additional brass piece to stiffen it. I poured some beeswax over the assembled things before putting chromed pickup cover back, and it nicely made all things less loose feeling.

nooneknows · August 31, 2005, 08:08:40 AM

Have a look here:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/A-LINDYFRALIN.html

it does work, I've done it.

Danny G · August 31, 2005, 10:46:50 AM

Messy as hell, but pretty easy

Mark Hammer · August 31, 2005, 11:00:03 AM

I just made myself a Tele bridge pickup last week, and used a kind of "fake potting". I simply laid the coil on its side, held a big safety/emergency candle over it, and melted the wax with a heat gun pointed at the candle, allowing it to seep into the coil. The coil gets flipped over and I repeat the process from the other side. Just to be sure that it could seep all the way through, I split this up into several stages, melting some wax after I had laid down a couple thousand turns, and then doing it again once the coil was fully wound. Works like a charm, and nobody's wife has to have a fit about their husband getting wax all over the stove.

Of course, the only problem or constraint is that the bobbin (I bought some of the flatwork packages from Stewart-McDonald) holds up to heat very nicely, with no softening or warpage. I can't say the same for the plastic bobbins used in HB pickups. There, I imagine it is necessary to use some sort of low-temperature wax and actually dip it, rather than apply an open heat source (like a heat gun) to the bobbin from a close distance.

Paul Marossy · August 31, 2005, 11:06:40 AM

There's also an article on how to do this at www.guitarnuts.com
I think it would be a good idea to do it.

skiraly017 · August 31, 2005, 11:42:53 AM

I had a great sounding Strat once that had microphonic pickups. I decided that I'd pot the pickups. The process itself was fairly simple and went well. The pickups did not sound the same afterwards. Apparently from what I've read, the heat can affect the magnets. This may be true or bunk. All I can tell you is that afterwards I was sorry I did it.

petemoore · August 31, 2005, 08:45:28 PM

Think wax can be melted at less than magnet damage levels.
My buddy did it and I watched, in a pan he melted [just melted] wax enough to immerse the pickups, can't remember if he taped off the top plates where the adjusment poles are, and let each one soak for a haff hour, tapping on a solid area to let air bubbles out...also turning them around...fixed his pups right up.
Lay papers down, soak them with wax, then let the burner initiate the burning to begin...lol...not.

Penguin · August 31, 2005, 09:51:51 PM

www.projectguitar.com

Mark Hammer · September 01, 2005, 09:28:37 AM

A tip you won't see in many places. When recovering the PU's, get yourself some teflon tape from the hardware store. It conforms nicely to the coil, contains no adhesive, and provides a painless protective layer between the coil and any outside tape covering. That way, if you need to remove the outside tape covering for any reason, you won't inadvertently damage the coil.

Paul Marossy · September 01, 2005, 10:18:48 AM

Quote from: Mark HammerA tip you won't see in many places. When recovering the PU's, get yourself some teflon tape from the hardware store. It conforms nicely to the coil, contains no adhesive, and provides a painless protective layer between the coil and any outside tape covering. That way, if you need to remove the outside tape covering for any reason, you won't inadvertently damage the coil.

That's a clever idea. Does it come in black?! :lol:

Fret Wire · September 01, 2005, 10:28:37 AM

Interesting tip. I wouldn't, however, do that with any pickup that already had tape on the coils, especially vintage pu's. Too much chance of pulling/damaging a coil. If the coils aren't corroded/broken, and the tape is in good shape, I'd leave them be and pot them as is. It would probably be good to use mild heat to soften the tape so it would come off the coils easily.

Mark Hammer · September 01, 2005, 12:41:03 PM

Quote from: Fret WireInteresting tip. I wouldn't, however, do that with any pickup that already had tape on the coils, especially vintage pu's. Too much chance of pulling/damaging a coil. If the coils aren't corroded/broken, and the tape is in good shape, I'd leave them be and pot them as is. It would probably be good to use mild heat to soften the tape so it would come off the coils easily.

Absolutely. The idea is that, if you are starting from scratch and can create for yourself the option to get back into the pickup in future in a nondestructive way, this will generally do it.

Besides, I imagine most people have very little idea of what the long-term properties of the adhesive on the tape they happen to be using really ARE. I know I don't. So, if you have no idea whether it will turn to goop in two years or hold up like a 40 year old Strat PU, best not to take any chances, right?

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DIY Pickup Wax Potting