Stripping cabinets of covering need ideas.

[zeegler]

How much time do you have? Seriously, any help or advice your willing to share is greatly appreciated. I really don't want to screw these cabs up and start over again. I was going to try using the pieces I pulled off as a template. Good idea or not worth the hassle?

Ok, well I'll start with the important stuff.

As I mentioned, the easiest way to remove the old tolex, is to score it into 2-3 inch strips with a utility knife. That might not be necessary if the glue is inferior.

Once the old covering is gone, you will probably have a fair amount of glue residue to remove. You must remove this residue, otherwise your new covering with end up looking lumpy and amateurish. You can use napthalene, xylene, acetone, or whatever solvent you have handy, but make sure you use rubber gloves and a respirator. A paint scraper or something similar will be a big help. When you got all the residue off, wipe the cabinet down with alcohol. This will help the new covering stick.

I would strongly advise against using the old covering as a template for several reasons. 1. Unless the glue holding the old covering on is not very good, it's unlikely you will be able to remove it in one piece. 2. Assuming you are able to remove the old covering in one piece, the chances are it will stretch and distort during removal. If you cut a new piece based on that, it will never fit correctly. 3. Even if you manage to use the template successfully, you will find it close to impossible to line the new covering up on the cabinet correctly, and contact cement can not be repositioned once it is bonded.

In my experience, it's better to accurately measure the cabinet you are covering, accounting for wrapping the edges of course, and draw the pattern out on the back of the tolex. However, DO NOT USE MARKER!! I made the mistake of using a black Sharpie to do this once, and the marker bled right through my nice candy green tolex. I just use a red carpenter's pencil.

Draw the pattern out on the back of the tolex, and allow an extra 2 inches all the way around. Don't worry about wasting tolex. Better to use a little extra, and get it right, rather than having to waste the whole lot because it didn't fit properly.

Once you have marked out your pattern, and your extra 2" "buffer zone", you can go ahead and cut out your tolex.

Let's assume you're doing a head cabinet, but the procedure would be pretty much identical for a combo amp. You ideally want to have only 1 seam, and it should be hidden as well as possible. In other words, you don't want the seam on the top or sides, and the best place for it is on the bottom at one end. This way, the seam is often concealed from the front and back by your metal corner pieces, and sometimes partially by the rubber feet on the bottom of the amp. This of course will differ from one amp to another, but this is usually the best place for your seam. Before you begin, mark out the place you want your seam with a pencil on the cabinet.

Now test fit your new covering. Lay your new tolex out on a flat surface, inside surface facing up, and place your cabinet on top of it upside down. Wrap the tolex around it roughly aligning the seam and making sure you have a couple of extra inches at each end. You can use the pattern you drew on the back of the tolex to double check that everything is lining up properly.

I recommend using a good quality contact cement (and not the water based stuff) rather than spray adhesive. I've tried a few different brands of spray adhesive including 3M and Elmers just off the top of my head, and none of them held sufficiently. I ended up having to re-glue edges that were letting go and curling up. Contact cement is permanent as long as it's used correctly. The water based contact cement is awful stuff. It tends to thicken up while you're working, and does not spread smoothly and evenly. Stay away from it.

Now for the fun part. I always begin gluing the tolex to the side of the cabinet closest to where I plan to have my seam. Since you've got everything lined up at this point, lay the covering flat again, leaving the cabinet sitting where it is on top of the tolex. Use a wide, stiff bristled brush to apply the contact cement to the tolex roughly the area of the first side that you're gluing. Also apply the contact cement to the side of the cabinet. Make sure you get full coverage, but not too thick. Now you have to wait until the cement dries. I think 5 minutes should do it, but just make sure it's no longer tacky to the touch. Once it's dry, you can carefully start at the bottom edge (which would actually be the top edge since the cabinet is upside down) and push the tolex up against the cabinet. It's best to roll it an inch or so at a time, making sure you don't wrinkle it. Remember that once the two glue surfaces come in contact, they will adhere immediately, so be very careful. If you have a rubber roller, you can use it to roll against the outside of the covering to press it firmly against the cabinet. This will help it bond better. You can also use a glass jar or bottle if you don't have a roller. Once you've finished with the first side, you can turn the cabinet over and do the top, then the other side, making sure the tolex is snug at the corner edges.

Hopefully this is all making sense, but without pictures it might be confusing. If you have any questions, just ask.

After the top and sides are glued up, you can do the bottom. You should have a short piece of material at one end, and a long piece at the other end. Do the short side first up to the seam location. Apply the glue just slightly past the seam (1/4"). Once that section is glued down, you should have a couple of inches of extra material beyond the seam location that is loose and not glued down. Leave the extra material there for now. apply glue to the last section of cabinet and tolex, and after it dries work from the side toward the seam pressing the tolex into place. Your last two inches or so will overlap the additional material at the seam. This part is tricky, but if you are careful, your seam should be virtually invisible. Take some masking tape and tape the end of the tolex down at or past the seam. This will hold it in place while you cut it. Use a metal straightedge and a very sharp utility knife to cut though both layers of tolex at the seam including the radiused edges. Finish the cuts with a pair of scissors as straight as possible. You should now be able to remove the two excess pieces of covering, and press the last couple of inches into place up to the seam, which will hopefully be nice and straight, and as I said, virtually invisible.

Now you have to glue down the tolex that wraps around to the inside of the head shell. It's pretty much the same procedure. Do one edge at a time. I like to use a piece of masking tape to hold the tolex back while the contact cement dries properly before sticking it down. At the corners, you can use the same procedure as the bottom seam to do your 45 degree mitres. If you amp doesn't have corner protectors, you'll want to get the radiused corners perfect. That's a little hard to explain without pictures unfortunately. Maybe in the future I will do another one and take pictures so you can see what I'm talking about.

So, that's pretty much it for now, until I think of something else.

Oh, and before you install any hardware back on the cabinet like handles, corners, etc. Let the cabinet sit for a couple of days for the cement to cure. Otherwise, you can get bubbling at those spots, and that looks really bad.

[veemagic]

Thanks man! So cool of you, and such great information. It really should be a sticky. My covering on both cabinets came off in one piece very easy. I don't know what kind of adhesive Marshall uses, that black crap, but it remained pretty pliable. I will let you know how it turns out.

[zeegler]

Thanks man! So cool of you, and such great information. It really should be a sticky. My covering on both cabinets came off in one piece very easy. I don't know what kind of adhesive Marshall uses, that black crap, but it remained pretty pliable. I will let you know how it turns out.

So far I've never done a Marshall so I don't know what kind of glue they use. I've toyed with the idea of re-covering my JCM900 and 1960 cabinet, but the head is in mint condition, so I don't have the heart to tear the tolex off it. The cabinet on the other hand is torn to shreds, but it kinda looks cool all road worn and shit. Then again, they would both look awesome if I did them in some cool color tolex that you don't normally see.

[veemagic]

Funny you should say that. Both my A and B vintage cabs were mint when I started. It actually made it hard, and caused me to wait a lot longer than I should have to start. But once I started there was no looking back. I was shocked at how easy it came off both of them. Once I got all of the corners off, the covering came off in less than 3 minutes. I have some sanding to do to get the residual black crap off tomorrow and then I will start on the layout of the covering. All of this to match my 1959rr head because Marshall sucks and won't sell white cabs to the US. Assmonkeys! You can get them no problem. I nearly bought them from a place in Edmonton, and drove and picked them up. About a 26 hour drive each way. I was a little unsure about the border crossing with them, so I said screw it I will make my own.

[zeegler]

Funny you should say that. Both my A and B vintage cabs were mint when I started. It actually made it hard, and caused me to wait a lot longer than I should have to start. But once I started there was no looking back. I was shocked at how easy it came off both of them. Once I got all of the corners off, the covering came off in less than 3 minutes. I have some sanding to do to get the residual black crap off tomorrow and then I will start on the layout of the covering. All of this to match my 1959rr head because Marshall sucks and won't sell white cabs to the US. Assmonkeys! You can get them no problem. I nearly bought them from a place in Edmonton, and drove and picked them up. About a 26 hour drive each way. I was a little unsure about the border crossing with them, so I said screw it I will make my own.

Wait, so you say they sell the matching cabs here in Canada, but you couldn't buy them in the US? That's just weird.

I would probably go ahead and do both my head and cab if I could ever pick a color. That's the problem though. Orange would look cool, but it's overdone. I don't like red. Silver (like a Jubilee) would be cool but maybe too flashy. White is always classic, and my 5150 is white, so it would match, but maybe that's too much white. Fawn/tan, nah.
Dark green? Maybe, but perhaps a little understated. Mojo has some cool digital camo tolex, but maybe that's a little too redneck.

See what I mean?

Anyway, good luck with yours. Just take your time, and it will work out. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[VitaminG]

great, informative post, zeegs. I agree - it should be a sticky

[zeegler]

Glad you guys find it helpful. Like I said, next time I get around to doing a tolex job, I'll take step by step pictures. That might clarify some of the steps. It's kinda hard to describe some of it in words.

[outlawten5]

Where are you guys buying your tolex? I would live to zebra stripe my laney head and cab. lol

[zeegler]

Where are you guys buying your tolex? I would live to zebra stripe my laney head and cab. lol

Mojotone has a great selection, but sadly no zebra stripe stuff. There are other places online that sell it though, so just do a Google search. Maybe you'll get lucky.

[veemagic]

I haven't seen zebra striped, but for Marshall stuff Solsound is awesome!