soldering headphone wires

[wschart]

I got a pair of headphones that my dog chewed through the wires. I'd like to repair them by soldering the wires. However, when I stripped off the insulation, I find the wires have an additional insulation of paint or laquer. If I try to scrap this off with say a knife, I either cut through or break off strands, and/or I only get a bit scrapped of the outside. Same thing trying to sand the coating off. I tried some acetone in attempt to dissolve it without any luck.

 

Is there some technique to getting this coating off or am I just SOL here?

[isaac42]

You might try burning it off.

[Kazinator]

Much better electronics Q&A board than this place could ever hope to be (but cruel to poor questions!) http://electronics.stackexchange.com

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/7489/how-do-you-remove-insulation-from-headphone-wires

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/51559/having-trouble-soldering-headphone-wires

The recommendations fall into these approaches that various respondents claim has worked for them:

• use a folded piece of sandpaper on the wire
• use wire strippers: they work better than scissors, knives, etc.
• melting solder onto the insulation, or just soldering with the enamel in place
• burning through with a lighter or small torch

 

[wschart]

Well, I'll guess I'll try the arsonist approach. Thanks for the help.

[WRGKMC]

Headphone wire often consists of having nylon woven in with the copper wire to give it strength and flexability. Soldering it can be most difficult. The suggestion of burning it off does work sometimes and its your best bet using an open flame. Problem is you dont have much copper left afterwards and what is left is weak from the loss of lylon to reinforce it and from heating it.

If you do get the solder to bind with the copper then I suggest using heat tubing or at least use hot glue over the wounded cable. hot glue works well because it insulates the solder joint and as it cools you can wet your fingers and mold it like clay and smooth the repair out so it doesnt look too bad. it adds strength as well.

A better way of doing it is to buy yourself a headphone extension cable, cut off the one end replace the existing headphone cable with a new one. Opening the headphone cap can be a pain because you often have to peel back the pads to get to the screws. Then they often use oddball type screws that need to be unscrewed. You can usually do a better job this way though.