Anyone ever use (tolex -like) material from Gary's Upholstery? ....

[gytyr1968]

There is ton of different stuff on Garys site that looks real cool.

But would it work on amps, or is there a fabric backing on some that would be too loose?

Or is the material too thick? Etc....



Has anyone used any of the material on his site?



There are many options, not just the link attached here. Look around on his site, and let me know what material seems best.
I beleive they have descriptions of the material in a small link toward the top left of each material page.



Cool colors no doubt!



Gary's Upholstery - Furniture upholstering since 1970

[Enzo]

COntact the company and ask for a couple sample pieces of the material. Tell them you want to determine if the material is suitable for your application.

I never got around to it, but I was eyeing the stuff they make vinyl roofs on cars with.

[guitarmike2107]

Here's your answer

___________________________________
Width: 54”
Facing: 0.0080 gauge
Nominal Overall Thickness: 0.050 gauge
Nominal Overall Weight: 36 oz. per linear yard
__________________________________________
The tolex will likely be a fabric/foam backing with a thin top vinyl covering, total thickness = 0.05, top coating thickness = 0.0080 gauge... means foam backing thickness = 0.05-0.008= 0.042 (1mm) thick backing

The material will likely be quite stretchy too as that is what is needed for upholstery applications

I have used similar stuff, it was easy to work with because it had some stretch, doing oval shaped holes was easy, I could stretch it around rather than have to do little triangles to fill parts.

The main downside though is the thickness. If you have to use metal corners you need to take into account the extra material thickness, because of the thickness doing neat corners is harder, but the stretching does help
The other downside and the main reason I won’t use it again is that when you place heavy items on top of the material the foam backing collapses and leaves an indent, it does eventually expand back out.. but any indent is a no go for me.

I would still get samples to test, you want the backing to be as thin as possible..

[J M Fahey]

Don't know what those specs translate *exactly* to what, but the 3 most common backings I've seen are:
1) plain cotton cloth, can't be stretched, best for glued coverings (as in speaker cabinets), can be glued with water based adhesives (hide or Elmer's glue) or solvent based ones (neoprene+toluene/xyylene) with no problems at all.
2) "Jersey" backed, it's a synthetic woven cloth which can be stretched, slightly in one axis, quite a lot in the other, makes ovals and corners easier but when used with solvent based glues has an annoying tendency to curl on the table while drying (while you wait for it to get tacky enough).
3) Foam/felt/non_woven_cloth backed: too thick backing, easy to tear, not really suitable for glueing, was meant for easy sewing/stitching.
One of these is the one typically used for full car covers.
I guess the ones Gary offers might be similar to the third kind, although I'm sure he will be able to supply the first one, if asked so.

[Ronsonic]

I would simply punch the button on that site that says "ask an expert" and tell them what we're doing and see what product lines they could recommend. They've got over a dozen different lines and we aren't the only people applying faux leathery substances over wood.

I really am going to have to check them out for future builds.

[DIY_Guy]

They have a nice color selection, but isn't $22 for a yard kinda expensive?

[Ronsonic]

They have a nice color selection, but isn't $22 for a yard kinda expensive?

To my mind, if you're building stuff for sale in this market, a covering material that stands out and distinguishes your amps as being something special and beautiful is priceless.

[Enzo]

Sure, but if your priceless purple candy-apple metal flake tolex costs $22 one place, wouldn't it be better if we found the same stuff for $14 elsewhere?

[J M Fahey]

I sure would love to cover a couple heads and cabinets in metalflake Naugahyde or similar, just for kicks of course.
Hmmmm, you are giving me ideas.

[Enzo]

How about Holstein hide, with the fur still on.

And certainly cover an amp with tooled saddle leather, festooned with little shiny stars and round baubles. And a big cinch strap around the middle.

A dealer brought me one of those Fender HR DeVille or similar factory covered in faux snake skin tolex. At first I thought ewwg, but after a while I started to like it.

[J M Fahey]

Well, about the cow's hide, I buy my Tolex in Boedo Avenue in Buenos Aires, home of a zillion shops where the shoemakers buy their stuff.
I go to the "modern" shops, where I also buy the strongest Neoprene Contact Cement, the one shoemakers use to glue shoe soles, *claim* they are sewn-in (they are not) and get away with it. (The glue is that strong, twice as much as the regular amp-covering type).
I also stroll by the "old" shops, which sell all kinds of leather, including white, brown and black cow hide, still with all the hair, plus *beautiful* lizard leather, of different species, including some which look (and maybe are) little alligator skins.
Oh well.
One of these days, I'll have one beer too much (ok, make it a couple), and I'll have my own grass-fed, mooing speaker cabinet, if you know what I mean.
As a side note, once I was there with my little daughter (she *loves* "going shopping with Dad"), and found her admiring a watermelon size (or so it seemed) "Cinderella's crystal shoe", made in one piece out of some crystal-transparent yet very soft and pliable synthetic rubber.
I explained her that such an oversize shoe was obviously a window or display model, to show potential customers the novelty, when the embarrassed yet amused salesman interrupted my explanation: "excuse me Sir, that's an actual shoe your daughter is holding .... we specialize in supplying Transvestites ..... "
Oh well.

[Enzo]

Ooooh, alligator. I can see a small harp amp decked in gator skin. Very chic.