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Cosmetic! Recovering your cabinet!

Spinal Tapper

Spinal Tapper

Nov 15, 2007
6,797
348
Chicago
soundcloud.com
#1
Let's see some fresh retolexed cabs!

I'm getting my SWR Goliath 2x10 recovered in baby blue tolex with a black screen grill. I can't stand the rat-fur and chrome grill it has on there - but its a REALLY nice sounding cabinet!

Found a guy who will do this for around $200 locally.

Does that seem like a good deal? Has anyone done this type of thing? Are you happy with the results?
 
#3
I Wrapped my Head and cab myself in white tolex. it's a 1540he that was covered in rat fur (what a Shame...) but It was a good few hours of work and people do notice. not your general crowd but people do.

IMG_65632.jpg
 
#8
thanks guys! here's a pic of the complete ampeg back line:

all_ampegs-1200.jpg


i've been restoring heads and cabs for years.
i use a blow dryer or a heat gun to remove the old stuff. then, depending on what type of glue was used, i either sand or strip it with stripper. then fill all the dings & dents with wood filler or bondo, sand it smooth and wipe it down. its the prep that is very important. I usually use 3M heavy duty spray adhesive super 77 on the cab and the back of the vinyl, let it set for a minute or two and lay it on, and that's it.
 
#10
That price sounds pretty high. Retail for the vinyl/tolex and adhesive is about $40. It can't take more than a couple of hours to strip and prep the box, and another couple of hours to cover it. Sounds like that guy is charging $40+ per hour to do something you can do yourself pretty easily.

Check with a few upholstery shops. If you strip the box yourself, you should be able to get a job like that done for less than $100. That hundred should include the materials, meaning the whole job only costs you $100, not $140.

It's really easy to do a square box like that yourself. The corners can be tricky if they're exposed but the big plastic corners on yours cover all the troublesome areas. Stare at your box for a few minutes, noting how they cut and applied the rat fur. Much more straightforward that doing a sofa or chair. You can probably peel it off without tearing it up, and use that as a rough pattern for cutting the new vinyl slightly oversize.

Mojotone and many others sell regular vinyl in a lot of colors for about $15 a yard (54" wide), and 3M Super 77 (or something like that) does a great job of sticking it on. Think of your cab with cream levant vinyl, and oxblood grille cloth like the early sixties Fenders. Mmmmmmmm.
 
#11
Goodlawdy said:
I want to do this too, but my old cab has metal corner covers that are held in by rivets.

Anybody got any advice for removing these?
Click to expand...

Ampeg corners are held on by brads (they look like rivets). you have to carefully pry them out. on an ampeg, i pry underneath the metal corner and when the head is raised a bit, then i pry the head completely out.
actually, IMO, $200 (for parts and labor) to do a 4x10 or 4x12 cab isn't really an unfair price at all. it can take alot of hours to get the cab prepped properly. but i only find it worth it if you're restoring a really beat up vintage cab that will be worth more money, once restored. the tolex, glue, stripper, sandpaper and filler all adds up, then you have to consider what your time is worth, and how much of a 'factory look' that you want.

i find it difficult to use the old covering as a pattern as it is usually stretched when removing it. i just cut my tolex oversized and then trim it with a new razor blade.
 
#13
johnk_10 said:
actually, IMO, $200 (for parts and labor) to do a 4x10 or 4x12 cab isn't really an unfair price at all. it can take alot of hours to get the cab prepped properly...
Click to expand...

I don't know, John. I think the difference may be whether you have the job done by a music store/amp tech or by an upholstery shop.

The OP has a 2x10. An upholstery pro with a heat gun, a good sander, and a little enthusiasm can strip and prep that little guy in an hour, tops! Thirty minutes to strip, fifteen to fill (which is often not even necessary), go do something else for a while, then fifteen to sand. Covering a square box like that 2x10 Goliath takes an upholstery pro about 30 minutes.

We used to do those jobs in our repair shop until we took the time to check into a few of the local upholstery shops, who were very happy to take the jobs because they are so easy compared to their normal trade. (Look at the OP's 2x10", then look at a camelback sofa). We send all of the vinyl work out now, because it is so cheap when done by a pro, and because the glue funkifies the shop!

Living so close to Mexico, there are a lot of pros in this area. To give you an example, we built a new cab for a silverface Super Reverb restoration for a guy the other day. Two seperate back panels with fancy oval cutouts, exposed corners on the top, a tricky job and much more of a PITA than the OP's 2x10" box. The customer got the covering job in real leather for $215.
 
#15
Giraffe said:
I don't know, John. I think the difference may be whether you have the job done by a music store/amp tech or by an upholstery shop.
Click to expand...

i agree. a 2x10 is a pretty small job. i would recommend that if he does go to an upholstery shop, that he supply them with the tolex, as alot of them use stuff that doesn't belong on an amp.
 
#17
Spinal Tapper said:
You guys have inspired me here - I might just try this myself...

it'd be a learning curve, that's for sure, but doesn't sound too impossible. Especially if I can get a clean removal of the rat-fur and use it for a template when cutting my new tolex
Click to expand...
From the 2 time I've taken off Rat fur. That's never the case. It breaks as you tear. The way I did my cabs is I wrapped the sides then did the mid section. I would think you wold need more than a yard or two. I'd get two to play it safe.
 
#20
ItsMichaelYeah said:
From the 2 time I've taken off Rat fur. That's never the case. It breaks as you tear. The way I did my cabs is I wrapped the sides then did the mid section. I would think you wold need more than a yard or two. I'd get two to play it safe.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...this could be tricky...kinda pathetic question here:

OK, think back to your FIRST time doing this...after I get the cabinet all stripped and cleaned up (bare wood) how do I begin to measure how the tolex goes on? All the seams meet underneath the corner pieces correct?

here's a stock photo of my cab...

441070081000X.gif
 

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