Yeah Jean - I concur I just am making better attempts at not confusing or boring people to death. Our condensers are capacitors; they'd have been called that simply in electronic circuitry maybe three to four decades ago - the name change is likely due to the massive in-flux of different types other than a zillion types of electrolytic's which were some of the most commonly used back in the day (look in my old Bakelite GE AM radio for starters, or any of my vintage guitar amplifiers...)
Also, yes - while lets not get microscopic as it would confuse the issue, the mound and pit deal is going on all the time, if you "SEE IT" going on, there is most likely a problem elsewhere - it "COULD" be the points are out of whack and in very poor alignment, but generally speaking, most people smart enough to install them, time an engine and send it out would not put points in that don't meet properly (surely there are some exceptions by shade tree'ers...)
Agreed, if points do not last, the most common thing to look at and if feasible just change out with the new points is the condenser. Coils have a tendency to get weak (generally as the lacquer degrades on the wires inside) and/or just fail entirely with a dead short. While I've surely not seen it all, nor even a fraction of "it all" I've seen both failures, weak and dead shorts - that would be for both electrically excited "Tesla Tank Circuit" style and magneto style ignitions - snd like so many thiings since I am speaking from a repairman's point of view from what would be brought me, the completely shorted were far more common. Why? well they tolerated pulling the crap out of their mower, or cranking their XYZ engine really hard for far too long until total failure of a winding.
The parts listing shown with the bad wire wrap, the wire wrap is on the points wire, not the condenser as my R75/5 and a good deal of them upwards use (or list) the separate points that connect to the condenser via the spade connector. - There is no wire on the condenser at all; simply a pair or in some cases depending on who made them at what for, four spades. The purpose of that fabric wrap as far as I've ever seen in this or any other application to date has been to help one jam the wire into a groove to hold it in place so the wire is not caught under something like a dip-shit such as myself ended up doing even as I saw it was pretty nasty and starting to "come out" of the fabric. And yeah - that was a first for me, we have the same sort of points for Clinton's and other small engines with that sort of rubberized fabris and it's not that way, '53 Chevy, not that way, lots of stuff not that way, so that was why I put up a warning as it was weird as heck to me - the coating should not have been a coating at all anyway - should have been impregnated into the fabric like everything else I've ever seen. These either failed in a super strange way, or were made differently somehow - they were BMW points too with I think their logo and P/N - I know the condenser had the3ir P/N and maybe a prop logo too...
What else? Oh, regardless of Webster or Wikipedia, anything that burnishes is something that rubs - does not need to include an abrasive; can just be pressure/friction - lots of stuff, but does not *have* to have any compound associated (not to say it does not...)
If anything I've written here disagrees with anything much to speak with what folks have been saying, it is possibly a misprint as I am very rushed. Point is I am agreeing with everyone, but can still give pause and warning to the NOS OEM BMW points (just the breakers) as I have some and likely have more somewhere here that have that same failure. If I were ever to replace my current set with one of those, I would fully cut the fabric off and get some appropriate shrink wrap, even if it needed to layers to help stiffen the wire to keep it in its groove - as the fabric is simply a no-no. Even if it does not cause stupid chaotic mistakes for a n idiot like me on installation, no one wants the equivalent of a half of a latex rubber glove flying about inside the points cover!
And I'll throw one in for good measure to get everyone stirred up!
My assessment has always been and will likely continue to be at least with engine points, if there becomes a need to be filing them, they and that which is causing them to burn up should simply be replaced - used to be very cheaply done; now for our bikes, I might be a convert, but in general, for small one and two cylinder engines, pitted points meant bad condenser, replace both check timing, re-time if necessary (or possible on some designs) and re-check the spark with a "real" spark tester, for which I've not seen in a long time. When in doubt, throw them out and fix the root cause and it won't come back for a long time... To me -
NOW THAT'S JUST ME, a file is for a roadside get - her home job, not a twice a year, or every thousand miles deal. Mine looked original at 40 some thousand and I'd almost bet were. If we were talking about reconditioning 100+ year old OTIS elevators, that might be different...
If the spark tester we used at the hardware is still around, I'll steal it and shoot some pictures - it is a good example of something many do not think about when they see some spark, or lay their plug against the head and say, "It's got spark!" It may not have anywhere close to fire in the chamber under compression. They are just simple little doo-dads, perhaps many here are familiar with them; doughnut shaped with end(s) to stick in one of your plug caps and an alligator clip to clip to ground. The gap jumped in open air gosh is likely 5 or more times of that it does in a spark plug buried in one's engine.
I may drop back when I have time late tonight to correct typos -
and I did not write any of the business about to file or not to file to get people fired up, Not in the least; it's simply my way and how I learned to do such things. Besides, it was a business and frankly properly filing points cost far more in those days than a new set - even with a little packet of fresh grease enclosed!