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So I did my very first Tolex side panel on a Bassman combo I was building, and I was proud so I posted it on my FB page. Next day a local guy asks what it would cost to do his Marshall head and cab in red. I tell him I am new to this, but he thinks I did a fine job on mine, so how much? I tell him $400, thinking I could scare him off, because I really didn't want to do it. He took the deal.
So he brings me his ripped up, STINKY cabs, and gives me 2 -3 weeks. Stripped them, went thru the learning curve of adhesives, rivets, etc in other threads. When all is said and done, I have so many hours into this project, I can't even believe. Expenses have been over 50% (I did have to buy an apoulstery stapler, so that's kinda part of it). I used contact cement and spray adhesive combo, and man does that take like forever waiting for that stuff to set up. I have to have the shop door open with a fan, so that means working at night with the heat and humidity down here. And when I say night, I mean ALL night. Then, for some reason, the seams that looked excellent the night before, shrunk and looked not at all excellent the next day. So that means more hours of gluing in small patches to make everything look like it is worth $400. You can get away with a LOT more with black tolex on black painted wood then you ever will with red. Hell, I was surprised just how sloppy some of the original Marshall factory covering was.
He will be happy with the end result, I'm sure, but damn, I think I made less than Burger King money on this. He says he will be sure to tell everyone who did the job, but I'm not sure I want him to.
Anyway, I think I am all hopped up on contact fumes, so here is a before and after pics.
So he brings me his ripped up, STINKY cabs, and gives me 2 -3 weeks. Stripped them, went thru the learning curve of adhesives, rivets, etc in other threads. When all is said and done, I have so many hours into this project, I can't even believe. Expenses have been over 50% (I did have to buy an apoulstery stapler, so that's kinda part of it). I used contact cement and spray adhesive combo, and man does that take like forever waiting for that stuff to set up. I have to have the shop door open with a fan, so that means working at night with the heat and humidity down here. And when I say night, I mean ALL night. Then, for some reason, the seams that looked excellent the night before, shrunk and looked not at all excellent the next day. So that means more hours of gluing in small patches to make everything look like it is worth $400. You can get away with a LOT more with black tolex on black painted wood then you ever will with red. Hell, I was surprised just how sloppy some of the original Marshall factory covering was.
He will be happy with the end result, I'm sure, but damn, I think I made less than Burger King money on this. He says he will be sure to tell everyone who did the job, but I'm not sure I want him to.
Anyway, I think I am all hopped up on contact fumes, so here is a before and after pics.
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