How to solder 30ga wire?

[Lumpy]

Attempting to repair a coil (mag guitar pickup)
that's gazillion gauge enameled copper (probably
30ga - I'm guessing).

Do you have to strip (sand?) the enamel off
first or will soldering it melt through
the enamel?

Attempting to "strip" it with 2000 grit
sandpaper results in stripped copper
about half the time, broken wire
the other half. When it does work,
the wire coils unpredictibly and
seems to take a "set" making it
incredibly difficult to solder
to any kind of terminal or larger
gauge wire.


L

 

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Try holding the wire briefly over a gentle flame, like a match (not a
blowtorch). This should burn away the insulation and leave you with
bare wire. There are some chemicals that they claim will work on
enamel but not on formvar, but I have no experience with these. If you
need to insulate it after you are done, I like to use clear fingernail
polish.

 

[ehsjr]

Attempting to repair a coil (mag guitar pickup)
that's gazillion gauge enameled copper (probably
30ga - I'm guessing).

Do you have to strip (sand?) the enamel off
first or will soldering it melt through
the enamel?

Attempting to "strip" it with 2000 grit
sandpaper results in stripped copper
about half the time, broken wire
the other half. When it does work,
the wire coils unpredictibly and
seems to take a "set" making it
incredibly difficult to solder
to any kind of terminal or larger
gauge wire.


L

The wires must have the enamel (or whatever it is) insulation
removed before soldering. The best method is putting the end
you want stripped into a pool of melted solder for a few seconds,
but it does not work for all enamel or enamel-like insulation.

Sometimes you can melt it off with a flame, as has been
mentioned. You still need to clean the wire after that to
remove any residue.

I've been able to strip that stuff with a razor knife.
Angle the top of the razor blade in the direction you
will move the knife, like this:

/ <blade
/ Direction of travel >>>>
wire>============

Place the wire on a flat, solid surface and drag the blade
across it as shown above. Be gentle! Watch closely. As the
enamel insulation is scraped off, you'll need to rotate the
wire from time to time. You'll need a number of strokes
before rotating the wire. If you are patient and careful,
this works.

Ed

 

[Jasen Betts]

Attempting to repair a coil (mag guitar pickup)
that's gazillion gauge enameled copper (probably
30ga - I'm guessing).

Do you have to strip (sand?) the enamel off
first or will soldering it melt through
the enamel?

It depends on the enamel..

Attempting to "strip" it with 2000 grit
sandpaper results in stripped copper
about half the time, broken wire
the other half. When it does work,
the wire coils unpredictibly and
seems to take a "set" making it
incredibly difficult to solder
to any kind of terminal or larger
gauge wire.

you could try steel wool, also try less pressure on the sandpaper.

I was successful stripping thinner than 30ga wire with coarser sandpaper
(300 grit?) by pinching it between two pieces of sandpaper and pulling

zinc chloride flux can help with tricky soldering jobs, but clean it up
well afterwarsa as it's acidic and corosive.

Bye.
Jasen

 

[quietguy]

Back in the good old days I cleaned the end of litz wire by way of a match
held underneath, then the application of a findernail to scratch the crud
off. For very fine enammeled (sp?) wire, I just lay the end on the bench,
and g e n t l y scraped the enamel off with a razor blade - rotating the
wire a little at a time. But then I was only a kid then, and knew no
better - but it worked just fine

David