Cleaning rough tolex (e.g. Peavey)

[glebert]

I have acquired a few Peavey amps over the years that have tons of grime and it really gets down into the rough texture of the tolex (or whatever you want to call their material). I am working on a Roadmaster currently that had paint on it and decades of dirt. Naptha helped soften the paint but I couldn't get it out of the crannies. In desperation I grabbed the jug of orange pumice hand cleaner I had by my laundry room sink. Used a stiff fiber brush and worked it in then used a very wet cloth and cold water to rinse it off. It lifted out the paint but also did a great job with the grime, and also seemed to almost "rejuvenate" the black of the tolex, rather than leaving it looking faded like I have had with other detergents. I have actually done a couple passes with it on this since I had missed some spots, but I am really happy with how this is looking.

Before:


After:


Greg

[steve2112]

I clean tolex with some murphys oil soap thinned down and scrubbed with a toothbrush. It looks good when it was done. Yours is looking great too. It just takes patience to get it completely cleaned.

[Randall]

I use Simple Green and a toothbrush, then wipe it with a clean water sponge.