tolex/adhesive frustration

[stingray_65]

My absolute favorite covering is Denim.

so easy to work with can be bought at walmarts for $2 a yard or less.

I found that the high strength 90 is better suited for non porous surfaces.

for wood/tolex i prefer the super 77 (most heavy tolex have a cloth back)

the only drawback to using denim or any other cloth material is if the adhesive is too heavy it can bleed thru.

it soils easy, but like blue jeans they look better when they arent so new (just my .02)

[cminor9]

Well there you have it my secret is out...

I just found a LineX place 5 miles from me. I am gonna try this, I wonder if they have a minimum size that they'll do? One way to find out! Thanks for sharing this tip, Don! I will post back how it turns out.

[Leif H]

I just found a LineX place 5 miles from me. I am gonna try this, I wonder if they have a minimum size that they'll do? One way to find out! Thanks for sharing this tip, Don! I will post back how it turns out.

At about $1400 to do a flatbed truck, LineX would not be cheap! it would be tough though. I had a couple hundred pounds of tool box break free in my truck and it dented the tailgate, but did not chip the liner. And it was about -20 Celsius.

[cminor9]

At about $1400 to do a flatbed truck, LineX would not be cheap! it would be tough though. I had a couple hundred pounds of tool box break free in my truck and it dented the tailgate, but did not chip the liner. And it was about -20 Celsius.

Yeah, but I'd gladly pay $75-100 to do a cab. Tolex, glue, corners and my time for a 2x10 cab (my next cab need) would be about $100. Plus, I hate doing tolex. Hate it. Building amps is fun, right until you get to the tolexing.

I think I'll still tolex head shells, though, for asthetics. Got some idea on how to make it look better: one long strip with a seam on bottom, instead of four pieces (one per side.) The edges never look quite right to me.

[Leif H]

Yeah, but I'd gladly pay $75-100 to do a cab. Tolex, glue, corners and my time for a 2x10 cab (my next cab need) would be about $100. Plus, I hate doing tolex. Hate it. Building amps is fun, right until you get to the tolexing.

I think I'll still tolex head shells, though, for asthetics. Got some idea on how to make it look better: one long strip with a seam on bottom, instead of four pieces (one per side.) The edges never look quite right to me.

When I started looking for "how to install tolex", one of the first pages ended up being Mesa-Boogie on Youtube. and that's how they do their cabinets.

It's not so easy for a TV, or narrow tweed cab though.

I think I'm going to hate it to. That is if I ever get the tweed in my hands.

[black_labb]

i get some vinyl stuff from the hardware store's here in in australia. not sure how similar it is to tolex, but it looks like it. it has a cloth backing and i just use pva glue and it works perfectly. and whats better is when you buy it the guy will usually give you twice what you ask for and charge for what you asked for. good customer service

[otto pärt]

You can get Weldwood water-based contact cement at your local Home Depot or Lowes. It works great.

[yescaster]

I use the flame/odor resistant CONTACT CEMENT in the green can. Is that called weldbond? hmmm whichever..that one. then I do the cab, and the tolex...and let it tack.. then use a laminate roller. That tolex will not come off soon.

[Feramentum]

Well, I have re tolexed many pre CBS fender amp that a collector has for some absurd reason, wanted aesthetically perfect. The Super Reverb, The Twin, and Tremoverb. I ended up owning all of them eventually anyway......... I vice clamp my tolex into the corners and crevasses with a 3/4 inch block cut full length of area i wanted to fill for several hours. For these amps I also used hide glue, heated on a single burner applied with with a paint brush.It's great stuff and will stick anything together.
As I type this I am recovering my 5150 combo in cream rough tolex with a planned one seam only. I am not doing the hide glue. I am using 3M Hi Strength 90. Seems to work great as long as you let the items you are sticking together get a chance to "Breath" a little before putting them together. If It doesn't look that great in a year I will do it again. Dont obsess over your artsy skills. Just do it again. Focus on playing well instead.....

[cyclone]

I've had good luck with the Mojo tolex adhesive because you can reheat it and move stuff around later. It sticks better than hide glue, which is really tricky to use unless you have a glue spreader. It oxidizes after it gets hot, skins over, you have to stir it up and if its not right, it doesn't stick properly. In spots, near the edges where it cools before you have a chance to make it stick, etc. If you are the prototypical old lady in the amp factory that covers 200 amps a day, you can probably do it fast enough to get good results. And you have a glue spreader and a huge table to lay the glued up pieces of tolex on.

The hide glue, even the liquid kind, "looks" right, and if I were restoring another old fender I would use hot hide glue in an old frying pan as described above because anything else looks wrong immediately, and if you slop it around it will look wrong even if you use the right glue. There's guys that do that now so I won't do it, farm it out to an expert on something thats worth that much. On my new stuff, I use the latex contact cement. If my corners are wonky, I heat them up and hit them with the roller, they come out perfect. With hide glue, you only get that one chance, thats been my experience anyway. With the modern glues, you can pull a piece off and reposition it, if you have to. No chance at that with hide glue. Plus, you can fix your corners. I hate using plastic or metal corners so I'm a bit anal about how they come out. This is an early amp and I don't have a closeup of the corner but I'll post one someday

[Feramentum]

3M 90 worked great.

[Tom Phillips]

3M 90 worked great.

Nice work Feramentum. But no handle? How do you move that amp around?

I think the 3M spray product works great. I don't understand why there are so many complaints such as lifting edges from people who have tried it. I figure that those individuals just don't know how to use the product. It's especially convenient for one amp at a time jobs or when you just need a replacement rear panel.

[Jazz P Bass]

And we all have read the label, haven't we?
"Must be clean & free of all dust, residue, blah, blah, blah."
It may also depend on the board type.
Particle board in particular will just absorb the glue, leaving nothing to adhere to the Tolex.
And then there is end grain on real wood products.
Talk about a sponge.

[Feramentum]

Nice work Feramentum. But no handle? How do you move that amp around?

I think the 3M spray product works great. I don't understand why there are so many complaints such as lifting edges from people who have tried it. I figure that those individuals just don't know how to use the product. It's especially convenient for one amp at a time jobs or when you just need a replacement rear panel.

The amp is so incredibly heavy i use a 4 wheeled furniture dolly. A handle on this amp is just a waste. It takes two people to move it anyway. The corner protectors were refinished in cream as well.

[Feramentum]

Next I am covering a Marshall JCM 600 2x12 combo amp. It will be keeping a handle as it weighs 2/3 as much. 3M 90 after a good scraping with coarse sandpaper on an orbital sander. Another idea to help hide seams, Use a surgical scalpel and a steel straight edge at every angle and seam. Don't skimp on your tolex either. Buy more than you need.