I'm in the process of restoring a somewhat beat-up Duncan Custom, and I'm hoping to chronicle the process on my webpage. I thought, perhaps, folks who haven't seen it before, would like to see what a field-stripped pickup looks like:
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Pickup restoration.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Its hard to see in the pic, but lots of rust, corrosion, oxidation, etc.
Here's its sister Duncan Distortion that I'll be doing next:
BTW - In case the person who sold me these see's this, I'm not complaining at all. They're just as they were represented, I got a heckuva price, and they work great.
I just thought it would be fun to try to restore them.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Artie great idea with the website chronicling the re-building process. I'm sure that will give me the confidence to go ahead and try one of the hybrids. There are a few pickups of mine I bought used with super short leads and it would good to know how to install a new 4 conductor wire to the individual coils.
Knowing me, I'll probably restore all my pickups once I know how... Damn that compulsive-obsessive nature, lol.
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Now that I've got one taken apart, I can tell you that there's really nothing to it . . . except for one thing. You really need to be "up" on your soldering skills, and have a good clean, precise soldering iron and tip, before you attempt to resolder those tiny little wires back together in close proximity to the coil.
Thats the only thing I can see that might be an obstacle to anyone who wants to attempt this. Of course, I don't actually have it back together and working yet either.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Artie, yeah it's like one false move and part of the wiring starts smoldering from the iron. If you were good at that game OPERATION where you needed a steady hand, you will be good to go with the close proximity with the soldering iron.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Actually Artie, now that I think about it, you could've cleaned those up REALLY quick with a soft wire brish for a dremel tool put on 5,000-10,000 RPM's. You'd've been done in about 10 minutes per pickup.This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections. - St. Augustine of Hippo
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Originally posted by beandipActually Artie, now that I think about it, you could've cleaned those up REALLY quick with a soft wire brish for a dremel tool put on 5,000-10,000 RPM's. You'd've been done in about 10 minutes per pickup.
Besides, I have, left over from my younger days, the urge to tear everything apart and see what makes it "tick".
Originally posted by StratcatWhy don't you just buy a new pup?
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Re: Pickup restoration.
So far, all the hardware has cleaned up real nice, especially the back plate:
But the two plastic bobbins haven't. They cleaned up ok, and I can polish them to a degree, but they're far from looking new. They still look beat. If I can't figure out some way to bring back their original luster, this project will become moot.
I guess I'll go see what kind of new plastic polishes are out there.Last edited by ArtieToo; 09-04-2004, 06:50 AM.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
Artie, one of the mods on the Jackson/Charvel forum recommends using an orbital buffer for the bobbins, but I don't know how well it will resurface the bobbin if there are high or low spots due to wear from picking.
I have used Meguires Scratch X for pick swirls and for that it works fine. Deeper scratches would need buffing though.
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Re: Pickup restoration.
I've used MicroMesh for plastics metal and some paint finishes...awesome for removing scratches.
It first came out over 10 years ? ago and I got a sample kit with the all the grits, foam pad and microgloss polish....maybe it's till available.
OK, found the site to order kits...the craft/hobby kit is cheap! Up to 12,000 grit! Does'nt even feel like sandpaper at that grit.
MicroMesh kits...Last edited by butnut; 09-04-2004, 12:42 PM.
Gibson KS 336, LP Standard, Special and Customs
Bogner, Orange, Tech 21 and Fender amps
Celestion speakers
Duncan, Bare Knuckle, WCR and Gibson pups
Too many pedals....
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