90% beeswax : 10% ear wax

I’ve used 85% paraffin 15% beeswax just because I wanted to be edgy and different lol.

I mix coconut oil with mine.

Will that mixture melt in a place like Texas?

I live in Arizona which is pretty damn hot at times and have never had a problem.@@godzilla964

I was certainly potting my Gibson and Fender humbucker/single pickups back in the 70’s, so there you go...

Wow, thanks!

Glad you liked it!

some old school guys pot their pickups with epoxy!! definitely more permanent solution but gets the job done.

Plumbers take is made of Teflon to help seal the threaded connections of two fittings or appliances.

Did he invent wax pot??

@@mywaveinwoodswoodperfumes he made it a more common practice amongst musical instrument companies

I use a rice cooker. It's the residual starch that does the trick and stabilizes the harmonics.😁

Well said!

What does one have to lose if the pickups are already flirting with garbage status? I'm going to give it a shot with several pickups before spending money I don't in the first place.

Squire made the bullet strats not epiphone

@@motorcyclemark2889 yup my bad

What temperature did you get on your probe thermometer?🤣

Yeah man I've got shawbuckers too. Nice sound, but squel like a bitch!!!

Go for it!

Do you leave the covers on when potting?

@@rickya3877 I do, to keep the covers from causing a slight vibration noise...some like the non potted sound, but I hate the random sqeal when you use gain or a really hot amp. The last set I did had 2X rust-o-leum on the covers, and they came out just fine. I let the paint dry for a month (in the summer) b4 I dipped them.

@@Bob_at_OZDiggzguitars much appreciated,Bob...I just learned from other vids that some of the squealing can be from space between the covers and bobbins... something I never knew

Must have something to do with the material makeup of the colored bobbin?

The T° does not exceed 50° to have a melted paraffin, and this T° does not cause damages to the pickup. be careful of high T°, the paraffin is a derivative of hydrocarbon, highly inflammable and its vapor is very toxic.

I like this idea. I might pick one up since they seem pretty cheap.

I let it cool down for the next time. I just keep adding wax to the pot, so I'm not really reusing it.

@@HighlineGuitars So you reuse it but you keep adding more wax as you need it then? Thanks Chris!

Wax pot the whole thing at once.

Yes, you should. The tape will unravel from the heat if you leave it in place while potting. Be very careful as you remove the tape to protect the coil windings. After potting apply new tape as the old tape may not stick very well.

Probably. That was a hundred guitars ago, but I always pot unless a customer requests unpotted.

Just the windings and that is optional itself. You don't need to wax pot your pickups at all unless the coils are wound loosely.

Super glue generates a lot of heat as it cures. That heat can destroy the insulation on the wire which will kill the coil.

Good question. I'll check it the next time I pot some pups (probably today) and let you know.

160-165°F

Highline Guitars awesome, give me a good idea for when i buy my crock pot to do this, thanks.

No. Shielding helps reduce 60-cycle hum. Potting helps reduce microphonic feedback.

I prefer to leave the covers on. Soldering the covers back on after potting will get messy.

I assume you mean ceramic magnets? Yes, you can pot those as well.

No, it doesn't get hot enough, or at least it shouldn't. Too hot and the plastic bobbins would melt. Mine is around 135-140°F.

@@HighlineGuitars Thanks for the reply!

Might be a grounding issue. Check all of your ground connections.

That’s not the point he pioneered that company’s didn’t do it until he did

@@stimbobis yes they did. I absolutely love Eddie and he pioneered a lot of things. Wax potting of pickups just isn't one of them

Yup, Brian Mays father wax potted his pickups IN `64!!

Yeah, but Eddie didn't invent two-hand tapping either... Yet he brought it to the forefront of pop-culture and because of him, a generation of guitar players adopted that technique. Same thing with the potted pickups, Eddie didn't invent it, but he had an issue and he found a way to fix it, and because it was Eddie, his influence had everybody wanting to do it. Enzo Ferrari didn't invent the automobile, but that doesn't take away from his amazing cars.

No. Totally unnecessary.

Yes, you can.

If you have to use a soldering iron to remove the old covers and attach the new ones, some wax will melt, but it won't run out of the coils where it is needed. I would install the new covers and play the guitar as you normally would at the usual volume levels to see if there's an issue with microphonic feedback. If there isn't, you're good to go. If it squeals, a dip in some wax may be necessary. I'm betting you won't need to dip 'em.

@@HighlineGuitars thanks for getting back to me! I really appreciated it! - I was planning to match the pole screws as well. What do you think? Do I need to deep them in his case?

Sorry, I don't. Rewinding from one bobbin to another isn't something I have ever done and I don't think I ever will.

I am sure there are those who will say that vacuum potting is of vital importance. I am not one of them. As for when is hot too hot, you obviously don't want to exceed the temperature the coating can tolerate. My wire's coating can melts at around 155°F so I keep the wax at around 130°F.

@@HighlineGuitars totally agree. I regulate at 130 to 140 😀

@@HighlineGuitars Excellent. Thanks for the reply! Appreciate it

If your wax is melting, you've got more serious problems. Wax doesn't start to melt until 125°F.

@@HighlineGuitarsthank you for your reply. We had an extreme weather in UK 35*C ... my guitar is black and it was sitting by the window ... apart from 2 drops of wax didn't find any other problems.

Maybe try wiping them with a cloth dampened with Naphtha?

@@HighlineGuitars thanks for your answer, I'll give it a try at the next strings change.

Of course you can pot P90s The process is exactly the same as with humbuckers.

your pickups are microphonic, potting them may help

No. I made the video so you can pot your own pickups.

@@HighlineGuitars yeah I understand. I have a vintage one so I’m afraid to touch them 😄

poseidon3032 Yes, definitely

@@bhp1162 Yes. If you the cover starts to vibrate, it causes a resonance, then a feedback.

Yes, it can but it takes more than this produces for longer periods of time.

It won't affect anything.

@@HighlineGuitars Many thanks!

have the same issue here, with a silvetone guitar.... I'll give it a try....

it would stop that yes

I actually waxed the pickups a couple of days ago, I was able to test them today, it actually works, I used it with a Rockerverb 100 watts and the whistling/feedback is gone...

No. Only the coil.

@@HighlineGuitars thanks 👍👍

Yes, you can. Is it worth doing? Only you can know for sure and you won't know until you're done.

You guessed wrong.

@@HighlineGuitars yep..I .just got that info from other vids

I don’t know. I just use paraffin. I’ll leave the fancy blends to the big city artisanal pickup crafters.

I think beeswax help keep the wax hard if your guitar may see hot weather. Living in NM and AZ in the summers, it only takes 15 minutes for your car to get to 130 degrees or more. Paraffin would be quite soft, possibly starting to melt at that temp. That's my guess, other than people wanting organic, vegan, hippie pick-ups. Maybe the beeswax smell is like incense when you shred hot licks?

What do you think would happen to a guitar if it was exposed to temperatures hot enough (120-150 degrees) to melt paraffin wax? Hint: wood glue fails at the same temperature.

@@HighlineGuitars I recently watched a video from Hawaii where a luthier was repairing Les Pauls from the 70s that had the pancake stacked and glued slab bodies that were delaminating and coming apart. Apparently it is not all that uncommon in Hawaii. From what I gathered in the comments it is a combination of the salt in the air and the constant high humidity coupled with the high year round average temperature. I found it interesting that the phenomenon isn't heard of from 70s Les Paul owers in states that have higher extreme temperatures or higher extremes in humidity or warm sea coastal areas. Only in Hawaii where the weather is consistent year round.. By the way, the common Gulf Wax paraffin found in food stores used for canning food actually melts at very low temperatures..only 99 degrees fahrenheit, compared to Bees wax at 145. Combining Beeswax with cheap paraffin will give you a melting point somewhere between the two. I know from experience that stage lighting can easily cause stage temperatures to reach over 100 degrees F in some clubs. Something else to consider when choosing the wax for potting your pickups.

Enough to cover the pickups as they sit in the pot. A couple of bars worth.

about 55° C

Why?

@@HighlineGuitars Not sure what your question is exactly in reference to, but I have WAX and not lacquer at the moment, so I'm wondering if I can use what I already have instead of buying some. Secondly, I guess you wax before winding to prevent grounding out?

@@scottmartinezguitarandbass modern wire insulation makes it unnecessary to coat the bobbin prior to winding.

@@HighlineGuitars OK! I didn't know that. I saw one of the guys on Stew Mac rewind a vintage tele pickup, and he used heavy formvar. Prior to winding, he dipped it in lacquer.

@@scottmartinezguitarandbass it’s not necessary and is probably just a nod to traditionalism. If you’re worried about grounding out, use lacquer (dip several times allowing each coat to dry so you’ll be sure to get complete coverage. Kapton tape is faster, easier, and better.

Dear God no!

First of all, the wax cools. It doesn't dry. Second of all, I'd say your wax was too hot and you've damaged the pickups. Maybe.

@@HighlineGuitars Thanks for the feedback

Intentionally-induced feedback via the pickups and the amp's speakers speaking back and forth until loops begin to happen is one of the coolest-sounding techniques ever, you're dead-center right about that. But then feedback which happens because a guitar's pickup isn't holding together tightly and something or things within it vibrate or resonate when they ought to be still and rigid, sounds terrible. That sort of feedback only sounds shrill and harmonically one-dimensional, and not only that, one is unable to control it via manoeuvres and whatnot. No wonder we hate it, lol.

CA glue (aka Krazy glue) cures through exothermic reaction which would likely damage the insulation and cause the coil to short out.

Just remove the screws of the pickup sole, and then put some solid paraffin in a spoon and heat its back with a lighter or else, but previously heat the pickup with a hair dryer, then pour the paraffin on the back of the pickup, it will go everywhere inside it, then put your pickup in your freezer some minutes (some pickups makers dive the pickups in liquid nitrogen). This in case you won't pot.

I wonder how scented candles would affect tone?

@@HighlineGuitars I really don't know but are those paraffin wax the same materials they use for candle making?

Of course, it is made of paraffin

@@gelosoriano yES

And potting electrical coils wasn’t even invented by anyone making guitar pickups.

@@HighlineGuitars All electrical coils and many other electronic components like capacitors were dipped in something to make them more stable, moisture and corrosion resistant. Coils that got hot, like transformers were dipped in lacquer or epoxy. Cold coils like chokes, induction coils, low current electromagnets and transponders were dipped in wax. The practice is as old as electronics itself.

@@williardbillmore5713 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oZx3h72jyNW7dYE.html