Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

[Naps]

Ok, I have this old 4 x 12 cab and I just feel sort of attached to it. I'm probably going to load it with 2 new eminence speakers and I was thinking about jazzing it up. I was thinking of tapeing it off and spray painting some designs on it or something. Does anyone know if this will work? Would I need to sand the tolex so the paint would stick? Also, are there better alternatives to spray painting?

I'm also interested in modifying the look by changing the grill cloth. or maybe even re-tolexing (if that's a word) the cab. Does anyone know where a good place for supplies would be?




Oh yeah, and I'd like to give you guys an extra thanks for all the help with the questions I've had lately. :notworthy

 

[RiffRaff]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

yes, there are paints out there designed solely for appliations on vinyl materials, the only thing you will need to do is clean the tolex before you spray.

Can't help you with finding materials, but I'm sure there someone here who can (I'm interested in finding a good source for tolex).

 

[Naps]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

(I'm interested in finding a good source for tolex).

Found one. But how much is a yard of fabric and how many would I need? (my wife would probably know, but... :laugh2: )

tolex http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech11.html

grill cloth http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech10.html

piping http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech10.html#piping

is it the pictures or does the grill cloth look kinda of sub par?






still intrested in painting input.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

The biggest thing to painting is getting it clean. Most cabs have so much dust and grime from over the years its hard to get it to stick real well. If you do decide to go this route definately use the vinyl prep and use real vinyl dye or paint. Krylon wont cut it unless you just want to stencil words on for that army footlocker look. But if you want it to stick and look good use the real thing. Though they still can peel and start to look like crap pretty easy especially if your doing a radical colour change. Also beware that its hard to get them to from dark to light. So if you have a black cab and you want it to go white it the black may still show through some. Going from like black to blue isnt too bad. Now some tolexs would be easier than others cause of the texture. Like the heavy texture in Marshall vinyl wont take paint well, its hard to get all the tiny cracks to not show. You would actually probably have better look doing a design on the grill cloth. Would be more visible too than the sides of the cab. just my 10 cents.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

Also looking at those grill cloths they look fine to me. Probably just look odd against a white background instead of a black.

 

[seafoamer]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

I sprayed the grill on my cab. It was originally black.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

There are plenty of places that sell "real" guitar-amp vinyl on line, looks like you've already found some of them. For some different kinds of vinyl covering, check out yourautotrim.com I bought the vinyl for my blue Univox knock-off (see link in signature, then go to the "Workshop") from them. Warning: not all of their products are suitable for guitar cabinets. It needs to have the right thickness of backing material and the right stretch. Yourautotrim is very selecting the right stuff, also see there link to Paul Ruby's DIY amplifiers, he's used some very "different" coverings.

Re-covering cabinets is not hard if you take your time, study and plan beforehand. The Univox clone was my first Tolex job (and not an easy one at that) and it came out okay. Passes the 8-foot test, anyway.

Search the web for a tolex tutorial by a guy mnamed casey4s. It's a great guide with lots of pictures and suggestions. Problem is, it tends to come and go as he can find web space (or not).

Post here or e-mail me if you want any more suggestions.

 

[RushOfBlood]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

a yard is 3 feet, and i'm guessing you would need 5, with some left over. maybe 4

 

[RiffRaff]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

Found one. But how much is a yard of fabric and how many would I need? (my wife would probably know, but... :laugh2: )

tolex http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech11.html

grill cloth http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech10.html

piping http://www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech10.html#piping

is it the pictures or does the grill cloth look kinda of sub par?

still intrested in painting input.

Thanks for the links!!! Great stuff at pretty reasonable prices.

 

[Naps]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

If you do decide to go this route definately use the vinyl prep and use real vinyl dye or paint.

Where do I get this vinyl prep and dye?

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

Where do I get this vinyl prep and dye?

A company called SEM makes both products. If you have a place that restores classic cars near you check with them. Normal auto-body shops may have it also but for the classic car restorers its more common and they are much more critical of the products they use.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

I forget to include this before. If you're recovering (which I receommend over painting or dying, if you haven't noticed) here's how vinyl is measured: a yard of vinyl is 54" wide by 36" long. Two yards is 54" wide by 72" long, etc. Assuming your cab is roughly 33" square, you'll need four yards to cover it all the way around with only one seam, but you'll end up with enough material to do another cab. It's possible to piece it together with more seams, but they're no completely invisible, so it's cuistomary to keep them on the bottom.

If you persist with the dying idea, yourautotrim.com has the dye.

 

[Naps]

Re: Can you spray paint tolex? also intrested in Cab modifications, grill cloth, ect

I think I'm going to leave the tolex alone for now. However, I am comtemplating running a couple of strips or designs of a different color if I can figure out how. Thanks for the help.