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Copper wire lacquer removal

Proschuno

Aug 1, 2011
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Aug 1, 2011
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94
Having too much fun ripping apart a CRT, I ended up with a bunch of coils which are enameled and thus unusable.... Ive tried a propane torch and soldering iron, yet solder won't even stick. Does anyone have any ideas to remove the enamel?
 
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CocaCola

Apr 7, 2012
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Have you tried fluxing the ends after you torch them? The torch should have no issue burning off the coating, the only issue will result from the heat tempering the copper and making it more 'brittle'...

Short of that you can get some 200 or 400 sand paper and pinch the ends of the wires between some sand paper and pull off... A few passes should remove the coating....
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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Yeah, scraping with a knife works, but be careful about scoring the wire. That will cause a weak point which may break later.

If using emery paper, you don't risk that, but it can be a little harder to get the enamel off the exact region you want.

These issues can be worth thinking about if you don't have an excess of wire.
 

BillV

Sep 18, 2012
7
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Sep 18, 2012
Messages
7
Are you just trying to get it off the ends or the whole coil? Letting it sit overnight immersed in paint remover will do the job. However today's removers don't have as much methylene chloride as they used to. Let it sit longer or go to a paint store rather than Home Depot for the good stuff.
 
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