Wiring sizes?

So I found this cheap enameled wiring:

http://www.parawire.com/22gaugemagnetwire.shtml

From 12 gauge down to 32.

I'm hesitant to order though, because I don't know if the conversion of sizes includes insulation or not?

Standard "spark plug wire" for models is .025" ... Does anyone know what gauge that would be, and is that including insulation or not? I don't want to order the correct gauge and then find out the insulation is a few hundredths thick and it looks way too big... :uhoh:

All the parawire products I have seen are useless in scale modelling applications anyway as the insulation is translucent. Unless you're trying to mimic a clear coolant line or something similar, you want a wire with an opaque insulation.

Ah, well that answers that.

Hmm.... Anyone have inexpensive scale wiring solutions then? :p

Ah, well that answers that.

Hmm.... Anyone have inexpensive scale wiring solutions then? :p

Wrapping wire - used for transformers or something in electronincs

I usually hit up radio shack, or most electronic supply stores, they have rolls of wire that is .026 thick with insulation, and is perfect for ignition wire, or pull the insulation off and color it with a sharpie, or airbrush whatever color you want (usually just black when it gets that small) it comes in red, green, white, yellow, blue, black, and gray. other colors may be available as well

I usually hit up radio shack, or most electronic supply stores, they have rolls of wire that is .026 thick with insulation, and is perfect for ignition wire, or pull the insulation off and color it with a sharpie, or airbrush whatever color you want (usually just black when it gets that small) it comes in red, green, white, yellow, blue, black, and gray. other colors may be available as well

See I tried that, but the guys at radio shack looked at me like I have two heads--is there a particular name for that wire?

thin wire...?

See I tried that, but the guys at radio shack looked at me like I have two heads--is there a particular name for that wire?
Just ask for very thin insulated wire, and see what he has.

0.026 is waaay thick for spark plug wire. 1/1 cars I've worked on have had 7mm plug wire, which works out to 0.011. In 1/24, 0.026 is 16mm, almost 2/3" in dia- getting near garden hose size.

I use thin enameled wire (the stuff with the clear insulation). Wrapping wire, like Klutz mentioned. I found a three pack a few years ago at a Radio Shack- one is perfect for plug wires, one is good for damper springs, and one is about right for 1.5" coolant hoses. Sure it has to be colored- I paint it with acrylic ink, and it does nicely.

If you want to know what size wire you really need, get some digital calipers and a calculator- and go check out a real car. It's really straightforward, and using correct diameters really makes a big difference in how your engine looks.

is there a particular name for that wire?
er, yes actually. It's called "wrapping wire" - same as in post #4 ;)
0,25mm and 0,16mm are good diams to work with.
EDIT: I see Andy squeezed in between my reading your question and writing my answer LOL

Very well. Thanks.

I don't know why engine wire is so seemingly so hard to find. While it's not nearly as inexpensive as all the overscale stuff you can get at radioshack, Detail Master makes (or probably cuts length of and sells at high markup) a HUGE array of detailing wires - from wires that are too thin even for igntion wire, to wire perfect for ignition wire, on up to wire thick enough for coolant hose. The prices aren't even that bad. A pack of the specific engine wire is a few dollars and will do a few models. And it comes in black, as well as a bunch of other colors. And, unlike wire you get at radioshack, it's easy to bend and keeps its bend without trying to go back straight, so you can bend the wires to correctly mimic how wires lay in the real world.

John, if you are really desperate I have quite a selection of wires. I can put you some in the post.

I'm sorry, I just went and measured the wire and it comes out to be .017 which is about 3/8" which is not far off from a 8mm wire in 1:1 scale

I went through ths last week......I ended up at A.C. Moore (Craft store) in the floral section they carry small wire for making boquets. I got a 100' roll of 28 gauge wire for $3. Looks good as far as scale, cheap and easy to use. I have heard guys say they use 30 gauge but this is pretty close, looks good in the engine bay!

I will have to look at the roll when i get home to see what the stadard measurment is!

standard 28 gauge wire made by Weico, the company i use at work is .88mm or .034". im going to give some a try over the next day or two, it looks like it may be a little large but it shouldwork ok.

http://www.weicowire.com/specpage.asp?nGroupID=10

there is a list of sizes of standard pvc insulated wire, that should help if you know what diameter you are looking for.

just found our "wrapping" wire. its 30 guage weico wire that i measured at .0195". that should work alot better

My cheap solution.......Telephone cord. It's not very rigid, which is sometimes a downside. But is you just buy a telephone cord and peal back the outer skin, you will see 4 or 5 small insolated wires (red, green, yellow, blue, black). Works well and is super cheap...

Whew, I opened up a can of worms...

Willamo, I buy Detail Master wire right now... but you're talking, with postage to Canada, upwards of $6-$8 for a teeny little selection of wire in a package. It really seems like a colossal waste of money, especially with as many models as I put out in a given time period.

Thanks for the link to weico, I'll keep it in mind if I can't find anything locally--I'd just rather not have to deal with shipping and customs charges for something like that.

Buy a lot of it at once and not worry about shipping? Contact DetailMaster or your distributor and carry the stuff in your shop, so that it comes in with the rest of your kit orders? I never said the stuff was cheap, but for something like that shipping shouldn't break the deal if you're clever about it. And it far exceeds the material you can find elsewhere.