I want to un-pot my pickups

[super rad stuff]

how should i go about doing this? i know the best thing to do would just go buy unpotted pickups, but i don't have the cash and was fortunate enough to at least get some halfway decent pickups when i knew nothing about guitar electronics. anyways, i've got 5 humbuckers and a phat cat. should i just take the coils off the baseplates(one pickup at a time of course) and ....? flash boil them for a few seconds? i really don't want to kill the pickup(s), but would like to try unpotted stuff too. if it's safer to not do it, then meh

[grumptruck]

Stop being bored.

[Thermionik]

Well - this is gonna sound weird, but I did it once in very gently boiling water. Took the worst off with a hair dryer and the pup resting on some paper towels, taking great care not to get the hot air TOO hot or TOO close. Kept worrying the hot air would damage something if I got it too close or whatever. Then I thought wait a cotton-pickin' minute here..... check the melting points, and waddya know:-

Paraffin or container wax 55C
Mould wax 60-62C
Beeswax 62C
Dipping wax 65C
Microcrystaline waxes 165C to 240C

So unless we are unfortunate enough to have the special microcrystalline stuff (not very likely) they all melt below water's boiling point. And boiling water in an open pan will not go above 100C at atmospheric pressure (you can boil water over a flame in a paper bag - it will NOT get hot enough to set the paper alight.....)

Got a saucepan, filled with water AND PUT A PLATE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS THE PAN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN (so the pup's metal did NOT contact the pan's metal and get too hot by direct conduction from the cooker).

Lowered the pup in and bought gently to the boil safe in the knowledge that it can never exceed 100C in an open pan. And before it got near boiling - the wax floated out to the surface. I spooned it off with a cold spoon (solidifies pretty quick if you keep the spoon cold under the tap in-between.

Give the pup a little jiggle and turn it over to get the last out and there you have it - a soaking wet, painfully hot pup. Lift it out onto some paper towel and leave to dry - maybe with some very gentle help from a hair dryer or fan heater.

Only did it once - why? Well, couldn't hear enough difference to make it worthwhile.....

[lemonman]

I don't think you're going to be able to get enough out to make a difference. Once the coil's stuck together, it's pretty much going to stay that way. You can try, just don't do it, say it sounds the same, and that unpotted pups sound the same as potted; it's not going to sound like it's never had wax on it, IMO.

[Natman]

Don't waste your time and risk killing your pickups. I can almost guarantee that you will not remove the wax from the inside of the coils, where the air vibrates and has an effect on the sound (which is small anyway). It's silly. Try a Seth Lover second-hand (trade for one if you don't have cash). I understand the curiosity but this kind of tinkering is for people who can afford to screw it up. You're better off learning to wind, then make your wildest dream pickups a reality.

But practicing your instrument will make a bigger difference on your sound!

[Thermionik]

Sorry lemonman - should have made it clearer..... I was trying to get a cheap and waxed pup to sound more like an un-waxed Sheptone bucker I had. When it made that slight a difference I got hold of another manufacturer's un-potted pup, and that DID sound way better. A crap pup will sound like a crap pup with or without wax, you need a good pup made un-potted from the start to really hear the difference.

And Natman - I wouldn't suggest doing it on anything other than a crap and cheap pup. Surely NOBODY would be stoopid enough to do it on an expensive pup..... would they? And you're dead right - practice playing for a much more 'noticable' change in tone, and the ability to change that tone by your playing technique.

That's why I don't use a pick - the fingers can squeeze tones out better.

[der scheiss]

Stop giving them weed. They will be more aggressive.

[glassman]

Wire enamel and water don’t get along very well; particularly boiling water. Formvar is the most sensitive. In a laboratory setting, boiling petroleum Naphtha would be used to extract waxes and/or silicones from wire surfaces. Wire enamel is remarkably resistant to petroleum based solvents. Water makes the enamel surface craze and possibly flake off.

A safer way of removing the wax would be to dry heat the bobbin above the melting point of the wax and spray it with some WD-40. Repeat this cycle until the windings are saturated; the wax will be in solution with the WD-40 at this point. In a well ventilated area (outside and away from ignition sources) spray the bobbin with brake cleaner to flush the WD-40 (and the wax) from the windings.

[super rad stuff]

Wire enamel and water don’t get along very well; particularly boiling water. Formvar is the most sensitive. In a laboratory setting, boiling petroleum Naphtha would be used to extract waxes and/or silicones from wire surfaces. Wire enamel is remarkably resistant to petroleum based solvents. Water makes the enamel surface craze and possibly flake off.

A safer way of removing the wax would be to dry heat the bobbin above the melting point of the wax and spray it with some WD-40. Repeat this cycle until the windings are saturated; the wax will be in solution with the WD-40 at this point. In a well ventilated area (outside and away from ignition sources) spray the bobbin with brake cleaner to flush the WD-40 (and the wax) from the windings.

that's seems to be the best way to do it. i could just get some brake cleaner next time i'm at the the local parts store, right? and how do i go about getting the brake cleaner out? will it just dissolve?

and i'll probably try this on an epiphone pickup i've got before i try it on anything good

[glassman]

that's seems to be the best way to do it. i could just get some brake cleaner next time i'm at the the local parts store, right? and how do i go about getting the brake cleaner out? will it just dissolve?

and i'll probably try this on an epiphone pickup i've got before i try it on anything good

The brake cleaner will leave no residue of its own. I would spray it and let it soak in and repeat several times to flush as much WD-40 out as possible. The brake cleaner will evaporate pretty quickly but a little heat may speed the process; make sure the area is well ventilated and no ignition sources are present.

Jerry

[super rad stuff]

The brake cleaner will leave no residue of its own. I would spray it and let it soak in and repeat several times to flush as much WD-40 out as possible. The brake cleaner will evaporate pretty quickly but a little heat may speed the process; make sure the area is well ventilated and no ignition sources are present.

Jerry

thanks. so just to clarify on what you first said, once the wax melts in the wd-40, it becomes a wax/40 solution that can be sprayed off with break cleaner?

[super rad stuff]

Stop giving them weed. They will be more aggressive.

how does that get the wax off

[glassman]

thanks. so just to clarify on what you first said, once the wax melts in the wd-40, it becomes a wax/40 solution that can be sprayed off with break cleaner?

correct

[super rad stuff]

sweet i shall try this next time i make it to auto-zone or similar
thanks jerry!

[glassman]

Ryan,

PM me when you complete this project and let me know how it goes.

Jerry

[der scheiss]

how does that get the wax off

It doesn't. I was being a smarta$$. Sorry

[super rad stuff]

Ryan,

PM me when you complete this project and let me know how it goes.

Jerry

will do

It doesn't. I was being a smarta$$. Sorry

i kinda was too, a little dryer tho. no harm done

[The Usual]

Wire enamel and water don’t get along very well; particularly boiling water. Formvar is the most sensitive. In a laboratory setting, boiling petroleum Naphtha would be used to extract waxes and/or silicones from wire surfaces. Wire enamel is remarkably resistant to petroleum based solvents. Water makes the enamel surface craze and possibly flake off.

A safer way of removing the wax would be to dry heat the bobbin above the melting point of the wax and spray it with some WD-40. Repeat this cycle until the windings are saturated; the wax will be in solution with the WD-40 at this point. In a well ventilated area (outside and away from ignition sources) spray the bobbin with brake cleaner to flush the WD-40 (and the wax) from the windings.

Now that, and all your other posts on this thread, is the example of a useful, mature, and informative post. I wish 1/10th of us were 1/2 as helpful. Great post.

Now I'll add, why doesn't the original poster shut up spend more time learning to play ;-)

[super rad stuff]

Now that, and all your other posts on this thread, is the example of a useful, mature, and informative post. I wish 1/10th of us were 1/2 as helpful. Great post.

+1

Now I'll ad, why doesn't the original poster shut up spend more time learning to play ;-)

(sarcasm)

cuz i've got excessive free time

[lemonman]

Be careful what type of brake cleaner you use, the non-chlorinated kind will likely take the insulation off, short the coil, and melt or at least etch the bobbins.