Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

[Biu]

I have a sick obsession with blonde amps with wheat or oxblood grille :32: And I have my sights set on getting some kind of vintage tube Fender. I'd like to change the look of it without having to pay like $200 more though. Didn't somebody here do this with an old amp? I remember seeing pics of it. I think I might change the look of my Carvin too if this isn't difficult.

 

[butnut]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

It helps if you have some upholstery skill, but the tricky part is getting the corner cuts right. Not too bad if you have a chrome metal corner cap, you can hide a bad cut... no dice on Fenders with the slant top...inside corner too. Tolex does not stretch like vinyl, it's stiff, you use contact cement to glue it on the cab and the back of the Tolex. Pretty straightforward on the large areas, just copy the old overlaps. With the grille cloth, you want the horizontal and vertical lines to look even, using a staple gun, 'tag' the center of all 4 sides and follow a line and tag your corners. Pull tight and keep the lines straight. Final pull should have ALL lines even, fold the corners behind and staple. Gave my black 66 Champ a full facelift also using 'Brown' era logo and dogbone handle.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

Yeah, it's not easy. It's not as difficult on amps with corner caps, as Butnut said.
You have to use industrial grade spray adhesive, and the nude wood amp has to be sanded free of all bumps and old glue spots. Believe it or not, the hardest part is the back, where the tolex folds into the creases. Almost impossible to get it to stick.

 

[butnut]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

Yeah, copy what they did for inside cuts...a small triangle patch is first glued inside the angle of the top piece and a 'V' cut is made on the wrap piece...not too pretty and could easily have been stretched and cut if it was vinyl...Tolex is a bitch...but it's tough. :blackeye:

 

[Biu]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

That looks great, butnut! That's how I want it to look, but it sounds too difficult for me. Is there any place that does this to amps?

 

[butnut]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

A quick search brought up these guys. I do know they make some good speakers too, I had one. Give 'em a call for a quote. Or pick up the Tolex and see if a local upholstery shop will do the job...
http://kendrick-amplifiers.com/service/

 

[seafoamer]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

Getting the tolex all off was a real bitch for me. When I re-did my mesa the tolex wouldn't come off unless I heated up areas with a hairdryer. Then, it left this fishnet looking film all over that I had to plane off. lots of time.

Here is what once was an all Black mesa cab. It has the 'no longer made' 200watt EV speaker. http://brandonarzillo.com/cab.htm

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

I've only done it once. What a lofty project buying vinyl from Matchless, then recovering a 92 Matchless DC-30! I found it beat to crap for $1000, put $200 into it, doing the vinyl job nearly perfect in gray, then sold it for $1900. I would have liked to keep it, but I had a black pair of matching Matchli, as I called them. A 96 DC-30 and 97 Chieftain. I only kept the Chieftain. I really love the job Butnut did on that Champ. The knobs and amber jewel really top it off! It makes me want to seek out some battered old Fenders and redo them.
Who knows, if you learn to do it like a pro, you could make extra money doing it.

 

[Biu]

Re: Is changing tolex and grille cloths hard?

A quick search brought up these guys. I do know they make some good speakers too, I had one. Give 'em a call for a quote. Or pick up the Tolex and see if a local upholstery shop will do the job...
http://kendrick-amplifiers.com/service/

Thanks for the link, butnut! Do you know if they do good mods? I was planning on going with Voodoo Amp mods, but this looks to be pretty cool as well.