[AMRadio] A bit OT: wire stripper?

[Donald Chester]

>   I'd like to have a source of some nice gunk you can just dip the wire in 
>and wipe off the insulation.  Maybe I'm dreaming - in this post-EPA 
>world...

Have you tried ordinary paint stripper?  I have had various degrees of 
success with it.  Depends on what kind of varnish they used.  I seem to 
remember it working well with older wire, such as in repairing pre-WW2 audio 
transformers.

BTW, one of the things that makes many older transformers open up is the 
solder itlelf, that eats up the fine wire, the same process that causes your 
soldering gun tip to slowly disintegrate.  The process is exacerbated by 
humidity.  Some of the newer solders are not supposed to do that (don't know 
about the lead-free stuff).