Wax Dipped P'ups

[TommyJ]

How do you do that? and what kind of wax?
The p'ups im wanting to do are some old jackson humbuckers..
just for a test subjects,if I mess it up oh well..

[Mesotech]

A friend of mine did this with his Tele bridge pickup from a 52 RI thinskin, and this is how he said he did it.

He used beeswax (but I understand that parafin will also work as well). Using an old fondo set (bowl and burner kit type of thingy) he melted all of the wax. This took a while to do according to him. It helped that he chopped the wax into smaller chunks so it melted faster. Then he placed his pickup into the hot wax and let it sit until air bubbles no longer surfaced when the pickup was jostled around. Once to that point, he lifted the pickup out of the wax and suspended it until cool (just about a minute or so). He then cleaned off excess wax beads using his fingertips.

The pickup sounds great. He offered to re-wax my T-tops from a 76 LP 3PU custom since they became extremely microphonic with age, but I had already replaced them with 57 Classic's. He has LOTS of wax left, and saved it in the fondo bowl by letting it cool for next time.

[majwild1]

Here is some info on potting pickups

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/...ical/index.php

[Zhangliqun]

Usually a mix of 3 or 4 parts parafin and 1 part beeswax. The more beeswax, the thinner the wax, which I prefer.

[TommyJ]

Where would I get this wax stuff and the fondo thingy?

[Don]

Here's Lindy Fralin's article on wax potting-
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Elec...ndyfralin.html

[majwild1]

You can get a cheap fondu set at walmart, or you can use a double boiler, a double boiler works just as good it's just to pots put water in the bottom one and the wax in the top one. here is a place you can get bee wax.

http://www.ebeehoney.com/beeswax.html

[TommyJ]

Thanks guys,alot of good info.

[FrankJohnson]

I have a friend who uses an electricpot.
Smaller, effecient, and he did the early 70s Gibson HB's from a LP that now reside in my Epi Dot.

WOW !


if the wax is too hot I understand that it can melt the coating on the windings - not good.

[cdw2000]

My wife used to mold candles as a hobby. I would highly recommend using a double-boiler, rather than using a fondo pot or other item not designed for melting wax. Also do not attempt to melt wax directly in a pot on your stove.

If overheated, wax can catch on fire. The double boiler heats the wax with boiling water and therefore regulates the temperature to keep it at a safe level for melting, not burning the wax.

Double-boilers are pretty cheap and should be available at a dept. store, hardware store or crafts store that sells candle making supplies.

[Zhangliqun]

Years ago I just bought the glue pot Stewmac sells. It has a thermostat to keep it right at 145 F. Works like a charm, never had ANY problems with it.