How to remove disgusting white glossy paint from an amp head?

[SuperBassSam]

Hi all,

I recently took delivery of a broken Hughes & Kettner Bassforce XXL which I intend to repair and get gigging again. On the eBay listing it looked like it had been put into a temporary case or something, however when it arrived I realised that actually it was the head's proper case, just somebody had painted it white with glossy paint, similar to what you'd paint a radiator with. I'm pretty sure they've painted straight onto the Tolex but I'm not sure. My question is, would it be okay to use thinners on the case as I really don't want to keep it white, or is it just better to strip the entire thing down and recover it in Tolex/Rat fur?

Thanks a lot

[ddbassGA]

Rolling Stones: Paint it Black!

[Jazzdogg]

I'd remove the old Tolex and recover it. How picky are you?

[1n3]

Does your head look like this? If so, I'm not sure that's tolex. Could be a heavy synthetic finish.

[SuperBassSam]

Jazzdogg, not too picky really, I just want something that doesn't look horrendous Ah 1n3 it looks like that but it's painted white, I had just assumed it was Tolex. So I would assume then that thinners would strip that off (or at least damage it) as well? If so they aren't really an option. Guess I'll just be recovering it! From that picture I can also see that someone has painted the silver front of the head (the grill section) black, and the Hughes and Kettner logo orange. Why!? It looks so much worse now! Eesh. Well, as soon as I know the amp works I will get to restoring it back to how it should actually look. Thanks all!

[warnergt]

Three letters: E-L-O
(Easy Lift Off)

Test this on an area to ensure it is safe. This stuff has worked
very well for me in the past.

[Spinal Tapper]

Is it smooth or bumpy? If it's smooth, just apply tolex right over it with adhesive.

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by 1n3

Does your head look like this? If so, I'm not sure that's tolex. Could be a heavy synthetic finish.

That picture looks more like truck bed liner, Duratex, or textured paint than Tolex to me; if that's the case, I'd paint it black.

[1n3]

Originally Posted by SuperBassSam

Ah 1n3 it looks like that but it's painted white, I had just assumed it was Tolex. So I would assume then that thinners would strip that off (or at least damage it) as well?

You'll learn if it's tolex when you take the chassis out of the cabinet. For now, I'll assume it's not tolex, but some heavy (bedliner-style) coating. I would not just paint over the white, because as soon as you get your first scrape, the white will be exposed. Over time, it might get pretty ugly, especially if your black paint doesn't bond well to the white.

I would try to remove the white paint with a chemical stripper. Some of these factory finishes are pretty tough. If you're lucky, you'll find something that attacks the white paint much more than the underlying finish, and you can remove it fairly cleanly. There's a chance you'll get the white off, but the underlying finish will be dulled or damaged. But at least you'll have a black base to paint over instead of a white one.

There are many kinds of paint/varnish removers available here in the US... don't know what you have in the UK. I'd want the least "hot" product I could get away with. If you know someone that strips furniture, they'll probably have several kinds in their shop, which would allow you to do some testing.

As for applying tolex over this finish... that would work too, assuming there's enough clearance between the chassis and the cabinet. It would suck to get it tolexed, and then not be able to get the chassis back in.

Good luck!

[SuperBassSam]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

1n3 I've taken the chassis out and it is indeed just a synthetic finish, and in fact what you described about the paint chipping off has already started to happen in some places, the white paint hasn't bonded at all well to the finish underneath - I can practically pick it off.

I think I will try to get hold of a reasonably weak stripper and then work up in strength until I get something that only takes the white off, my cousin is a carpenter so I will see if he has any suitable chemicals. Also they seem to have painted the front silver grill in the same horrible quality paint, I have removed this plate from the cabinet and it appears to just be brushed steel so I will give thinners a go on that too and with a bit of scrubbing hopefully get it back to how it should look!

Thanks a lot

[SuperBassSam]

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread but thought I'd add an update for future reference.

After using a few different paint strippers I realised that I wasn't going to be able to remove just the white paint without at least severely damaging the synthetic finish underneath. I therefore began researching some textured paints and found something called Tuff Cab. It is designed for use on amplifier cabinets, can be applied with a brush or roller and leaves the same kind of finish as the original paint would have done. Furthermore it is one of the few textured paints of this type that seem to be available in the UK. It is also reasonably cheap, with a 2.5L tin coming in at just under £20. I will update this with a picture of how the cab looks when it is finished.

Cheers

[1n3]

Sorry to hear it. Did you try xylol/xylene?

[SuperBassSam]

Hi 1n3,

I didn't but I did try a variety of different removers and they either didn't take anything off or they took it all off so I figured it would just be a lot easier to repaint it. But thanks for your help! I will post a picture with the finished result once the paint arrives and I get a spare minute to do it.

Thanks

[Never_grew_up]

Since you have a textured finish to repaint it with, I'd suggest hitting it with a chemical stripper and try to get down to bare wood or at least get down into the black finish, maybe even use sandpaper or steel wool to get as much of the old crap off as you can so the new stuff you paint on will have a good surface to adhere to.