removing tolex goop from wood

[digthisbigcrux]

whelp, whats a good way to get it off. i have a beat up marshall jcm900 cab, someone had painted the tolex camouflage, so i painted it black. well now the black is wearing off, and the tolex is ripping all over so i said to heck with it and ripped it all off. now how do i get all that goopy glue and tolex remains off the amp? i want to sand it down and stain it instead of tolexing it again. so i would like to keep damage to wood to a minimun.

[DIY_Guy]

whelp, whats a good way to get it off. i have a beat up marshall jcm900 cab, someone had painted the tolex camouflage, so i painted it black. well now the black is wearing off, and the tolex is ripping all over so i said to heck with it and ripped it all off. now how do i get all that goopy glue and tolex remains off the amp? i want to sand it down and stain it instead of tolexing it again. so i would like to keep damage to wood to a minimun.

If it's contact cement that was originally used, best bet it to use a razor blade(time consuming) then sand it down. Or use a nice thin scraper, like the ones used to remove wall paper and paint. Just get the most you can that way, the sandpaper will take care of the rest.

[Gibsonman63]

I have re-tolexed three Fenders so far. For me, the vibrating hand sander and a bit of patience did the trick. I start with 80 grit and work my way down to 220. The last one, a 1973 Bassman 100 head, took an hour to prep. I would expect that a Marshall cabinet would take three or four hours to do it right. I still have the giant cabinet that goes with the Bassman head to recover, so I going to experiment with some 40 and 60 grit on the bottom to see if I can speed up the process without producing gouges. I probably go overboard on my prep work, but having only done three, I don't want to take the chance of having anything imperfections showing through once I have completed the tedious task of applying the tolex. My amps were smooth enough to finish before I tolex them, but I wasn't able to get there without some wood filler to smooth out the dings. If that ends up being the case with your amp, you may be in for a lot of sanding if you want to get it smooth enough to finish if you want to do it without out any filler. If you really want to finish the wood instead of covering it, you may have to resort to some tricks to raise the wood in the dinged areas, which will be real apparent once you get it smooth.

Tolexing isn't that hard, it just takes a lot of time, if you decide to go that route... and everybody knows that the purple Marshalls sound better.

[Kazooman]

I agree that a lot of time consuming, labor intensive scraping, filling, and sanding would be required to get down to smooth, bare wood. The problem may be that the glue has penetrated the wood creating stains that you won't like. Then again, they usually don't choose the best lumber with beautiful grain patterns for cabinets only to hide it with Tolex.

[Gibsonman63]

The Fenders were made from solid pine and I didn't have any staining from the glue. I believe that Marshall cabinets were made from plywood. I don't know if that will make a difference and I don't know if they used a different glue that will present different problems. You may discover that the plywood they used is not cabinet grade and it may have some surprises.

[DustyJBLs]

Tolex Goop

Laquer thinner will usually loosen up contact cement, but it is kind of nasty stuff - definately do it outside, or use a good respirator meant for spraying finishes when you are using it. Also, wear gloves, and ventilate your space if doing it inside. But If you can get it under the tolex, let it sit for a while, and then scrape at it with a putty knife it should peel up.

[Bill Moore]

Last old amp I recovered was an Airline, and I guess used hyde glue. I sanded most of the glue off, then thought I'd clean the dust with a wet sponge. Did pretty good, until the remains soaked up the water, and then the cabinet was sticky! Had to let it dry a few days, before finishing the job.
FWIW, I used contact cement to install the new tolex, and didn't notice any difference from using it on new wood.

[John_H]

I use a heat gun to soften it. It will scrape off easily after that.

[Andylaughs]

I just did this twice over the weekend. I used denatured alcohol and a scouring pad. It took about 5-10 minutes per side and several applications, but was very effective. I'd suggest buying a gallon can from any hardware/paint store. Pour it on liberally, allow it to penetrate, scrub with the pad then wipe clean with a soap and water-soaked rag. Denatured alcohol has mild fumes that are fairly non-toxic. Sanding can have varying results, depending on whether the glue used has dried hard or is sticky/tacky.

[J M Fahey]

US and UK do not use the same glue, so beware.
US traditionally used water based hot hide glue, applied to the Tolex surface only with a Potdevin roller machine. Today they use a synthetic material which works about the same.
Hide glue dries brittle, so it can be sanded and, being water soluble, any thin leftover layer can be wiped out with a piece of clean cloth soaked in warm water.
UK traditionally used solvent based contact cement, impossible to sand (it clogs the sand grains) and toxic to re-dissolve.
A heat gun helps to get it semi-soft enough to be "pushed" with a flat sheet metal blade.
Modern UK cabinets have gone ecologic and use spray applied water based contact cements, which never quite dry or harden, it's very common to see internal Tolex flaps unglued from the wood.