Wax Potting Pickups - A Primer With Photos!

[Georgiatec]

i heard of a guy using sex-wax and he seemed to like it.

Yeah...same stuff....Thanks for the input I. Max.

 

[Lane Sparber]

I couldn't speak for the surf/sex wax myself...never used it.

-Lane

 

[captcoolaid]

It is parrifin wax and does work to an extent. You need to mix it with a 15% bees wax to get it to run through the coils.

 

[impetus maximus]

the store i bought my wax at only sold 5 lb blocks of bee's wax.
i bought 100% paraffin and it worked on my pickups.

 

[Georgiatec]

Thanks for the info guys...I've bought a heater and temp gauge so I'll give it a go on some old 'buckers from an old LP copy that I know are microphonic and see what happens.

 

[Gtrman58]

Lane, thanks a ton. I played with a guy years ago that used to pot pickups for a lot of players in the area. He did a couple of my guitars. He used a old coffee can. I like your wax tank much better. Great article. It should be permanently listed somewhere on this site.

B

 

[Georgiatec]

I've done a couple of test jobs before doing the burstbuckers out of my LP. today. Managed to get a chunk of beeswax from the old dear next door. 10-15% mixed with the sex wax & vaseline....just kidding on the vaseline Lane makes it lovely and runny.

 

[captcoolaid]

the store i bought my wax at only sold 5 lb blocks of bee's wax.
i bought 100% paraffin and it worked on my pickups.

The reason for the bees wax is it helps to penetrate the coil quiker so there is less wax time. Just the way i do it.

 

[jcmjmp]

The reason for the bees wax is it helps to penetrate the coil quiker so there is less wax time. Just the way i do it.

If you're into Flower Power type music from the late '60's, the beeswax is essential to good tone.

Just listen to Glimour... a Big Muff is only part of the equation... Or hendrix's fuzz face? Yeah, think again - the tone is in the bees.

 

[captcoolaid]

Lol

 

[Georgiatec]

Big thank you to Lane for this thread. I have a Strat with a Dean Shredhead H/B at the bridge, a reg. US Fender single in the middle and a SD hotrails neck pup. The Dean was virtually unusable due to squealing. Now as quiet as an angel's fart thanks to this thread.
If you're ever in the UK Lane, PM me...I owe you a drink.

 

[Reckless_Life]

Great writing Lane
I don't need any pickups wax potted, but I read it anyway and I liked it a lot, very informative

Is this a process that needs to be repeated every X time or so?
What happens in the summer time? Doesn't the parafin tend to shift or drop out of the pickup?

 

[Lane Sparber]

Great writing Lane
I don't need any pickups wax potted, but I read it anyway and I liked it a lot, very informative

Is this a process that needs to be repeated every X time or so?
What happens in the summer time? Doesn't the parafin tend to shift or drop out of the pickup?

Not usually. Once and done is the norm.

-Lane

 

[Sabbadius USA]

Good info here! My BB 1 & 2 squeal something fierce!

 

[bennieusmaximus]

Hey Lane I have a 78 les paul.the bridge pick up is killin'me from the squeel.I am going to pot it,but it has a black wax on it already.Should I do it anyway.BTW all 3 pickups are like this and they are original.Thanks for the helpfull thred.

 

[Lane Sparber]

You should be fine. Try it and see. Do all three.

-Lane

 

[bennieusmaximus]

Thanks Lane.I think this is acually epoxy of some kind.They really came like that.It looks like the epoxy is keeping the brackets on as well.I doubt the epoxy will melt at 150 deg so I am gonna try it out....Picked up the wax and melting pot last week.

 

[Lane Sparber]

Yeah...I figured it might be.

With epoxy potted pickups, wax potting on top of the epoxy MAY help, but most likely not. If there are age cracks in the epoxy, then the wax MAY be able to seep into the coils a bit and possibly ameliorate the problem, however there's no guarantee that this will happen. That being said, there's certainly no harm in trying...just don't get your hopes up.

I am completely against epoxy potting for two primary reasons: Number one, it's completely irreversible - you can't get to the coils or do ANYTHING to the pickup without cutting through the old coils and completely re-winding the pickup. Secondly, most (if not all) of the epoxies used are too thick to penetrate the pickups' coils completely, and you wind up with pickups that are microphonic anyway despite the "potting" - just like yours are.

If the wax potting doesn't help and you can't live with the squealing, then your only options as I see them are to re-wind or replace your current pickups. Neither option is ideal, I know, but that's what we have to work with here.

-Lane

 

[captcoolaid]

Hey Ben is this the Tar back. If so just take 3 screws out and the wax will wick itself in. I take the 2 end ones off and 1 by the middle.

 

[bennieusmaximus]

Thanks for the responses.Im gonna try the wax and remove some screws.ive been swaping pickups in and out to mabey try to get the sound I was hearing from the originals,but nothing comes close.The replacement pickups are also not gold covered.