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Ampeg Early 70's Grill Cloth

#21
CTBassGuy said:
@greengoblin, how did you go about cleaning your v4 cloth?

My v4 cab’s cloth is very nicotine stained and I tried dish soap and water up through spray on carpet cleaner, and it didn’t do anything (see below compared the other cabs and V4b sitting on top of it).
View attachment 3201648
Click to expand...

I found a thread on here years back that stated Easy Off Oven Cleaner worked well on cleaning paint and such off the cloth. I was a bit hesitant at first since it seems like a harsh chemical. My cloth looked as though someone tried to paint it black and had some other weird paint anomalies on it. I had ordered Fliptop cloth so I figured if I did ruin the factory cloth I had a back-up. Went the Easy Off route and it actually worked very well! It removed most of the black paint and brought back a lot of the silver and blue. Uncovered a very faint skull someone painted a long time ago that you almost have to look for... But afterwards I was happy with the result and decided to keep it with the orig cloth...
 
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#23
handyandy said:
The shipping cost more than the cloth itself, lol :woot: 20.92 EUR for the cloth, 29.55 EUR to ship to Texas, totaling 50.47 EUR. I don't recall if the price included VAT or not... not sure how that works. BTW it took 19 days to arrive.
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They shouldn’t have charged VAT if it was leaving the country going to the US.

Those cost do add up though. I always get burnt by the extra costs.
 
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#24
handyandy said:
The shipping cost more than the cloth itself, lol :woot:
Click to expand...

Yea, that’s what I figured. Thanks for the confirmation. My V4 cab’s grill cloth is in good shape for the moment, other than looking green vs blue.

In the grand scheme, $65-ish is not that bad to make it look better, but I have some heartburn paying the postal system(s) that much money for something like this (yes, I’m stubborn...). I’ll buy some at some point when the annoyance factor surpasses my stubbornness factor.

Although, maybe I’ll just leave it as it is, pair it with my red TC BH250 and call it the “Christmas Rig”. :D
 
#25
So I was wrong on my cloth, found in my order history that I purchased it from Antique Electronic Supply. It is hard to get a pic of this stuff that really shows the blues in the fabric, but I tried with my cell phone. The flash kills any blue, but in person it is very pronounced.

First pic (hand at the top) it is next to the original cloth of my V4 cab. Keep in mind, my cloth was painted and attempted to be cleaned.

Second pic is next to the cloth of my recently purchased 210AV cab cloth. The cloth on this second cab has a lot of blue in it, however my first 210AV cab has cloth that is very silver and they two are very different.
 

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#26
greengoblin said:
So I was wrong on my cloth, found in my order history that I purchased it from Antique Electronic Supply. It is hard to get a pic of this stuff that really shows the blues in the fabric, but I tried with my cell phone. The flash kills any blue, but in person it is very pronounced.

First pic (hand at the top) it is next to the original cloth of my V4 cab. Keep in mind, my cloth was painted and attempted to be cleaned.

Second pic is next to the cloth of my recently purchased 210AV cab cloth. The cloth on this second cab has a lot of blue in it, however my first 210AV cab has cloth that is very silver and they two are very different.
Click to expand...
OK, I see it now. That coloration is quite random and it's not unusual to see two pieces that came off the exact same bolt looking like they were made at different times. Would love to see how it's made.
 
#27
JimmyM said:
OK, I see it now. That coloration is quite random and it's not unusual to see two pieces that came off the exact same bolt looking like they were made at different times. Would love to see how it's made.
Click to expand...

I am with you Jimmy and was thinking that when I last posted. Started searching grill cloth and fabric online wondering if I could find the mfg. Through the search I started wondering the same about how it is made, would be cool to see!
 
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#29
JimmyM said:
I'm not seeing much blue in it. Is that a trick of the photography or is there not blue in it?
Click to expand...

Thought I'd follow up with some pictures since installing the new frame and cloth, with different lighting.

Close up #1. New cloth (left) right out of the box, next to original cloth on 1969 B25 head:


Close up #2. Installed. 1969 B25 head (top), cab with replacement blue/silver cloth installed (bottom):


Not as close #1:


Not as close #2:


Full rig shot:


Overall, I'm pleased. Agreed sometimes it's hard to see the blue in certain lighting, but same for the 1969 cloth due to the discoloration over 50 years :-) Thinking maybe I should have painted the frame black before wrapping the cloth, but also sometimes kind of like seeing the wood frame behind it.
 
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#31
beans-on-toast said:
A good trick is to glue black fabric store felt on the wood part of the frame, trim it with a razor blade. It provides a pillowiness under the cloth. I think that it looks way better.
Click to expand...

Took your suggestion and slipped some black fabric in between the wood and the grill cloth. Looks way more professional, and has that plushness you mentioned.

AABF6A2A-50A5-47D4-B95F-1EF61C81D908.jpeg
 
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#32
Oren Hudson said:
I'm finally finishing up a '73 SVT 8x10 cab that I've had for over 10 years. Guy that I got it from had covered it in rat fur, cut out (poorly) a 6x4 inch section on the back and replaced the jack with a multiple jack plate. He also changed the grill cloth to a basic black. I've got the cab sanded and the jack cutout filled in and ready to re-tolex. I go to order the correct blue grill cloth and discovered that it's not available at Fliptops any more. So I'm wondering if any of you guys got any idea where I can find any. I'd be happy with used too. I'd really love to use the correct stuff. :(
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Curious how you removed the “rat fur”. I’m currently dealing with a similar situation and I’m having a hell of a time pulling this stuff off.
 
#34
ElMartillo said:
Curious how you removed the “rat fur”. I’m currently dealing with a similar situation and I’m having a hell of a time pulling this stuff off.
Click to expand...

I pulled all that I could by hand. Not an easy job, but after trying several methods, I ended up using a belt sander with the thickest grit paper that you can find. Some areas that I couldn't get to easily, I took an extended Bic lighter and "burn off" some of that. Scrapers and sand paper used some too. Once you've got it off, you'll want to make sure that you have a relatively flat surface, so you may need to use a finer grit on the belt sander for final finish. When that is done, prep the surface by getting it clean so the tolex and glue will adhere good. Good luck! :)
 
#35
Oren Hudson said:
I pulled all that I could by hand. Not an easy job, but after trying several methods, I ended up using a belt sander with the thickest grit paper that you can find. Some areas that I couldn't get to easily, I took an extended Bic lighter and "burn off" some of that. Scrapers and sand paper used some too. Once you've got it off, you'll want to make sure that you have a relatively flat surface, so you may need to use a finer grit on the belt sander for final finish. When that is done, prep the surface by getting it clean so the tolex and glue will adhere good. Good luck! :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply and the tips. Shown is a photo of the cabinet, which my uncle made years ago. It has an 18” Eminence Omega speaker in it. Works great with my amp. The carpet covering looks like crap, it’s all pilled and worn as it was used as a PA speaker for several years. I want it to match my amp, have purchased all the hardware and tolex from fliptops to do the job. I may start a thread documenting the rehab.

Thanks again!

890CA2B5-AC09-406A-910E-6A0843AA0505.jpeg
 
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#36
What I have done to find the silver / blue grille cloth is just patiently search craigslist and look for AV cabinets. I got lucky and found a 1999 810AV that was being sold cheap, $250, and the cabinet was wrecked, the wheels had been pushed through the bottom of the particle board, tolex destroyed, etc. I stripped the hardware and since the speakers were from ‘98, they are not the “dark” ones. I also got lucky TWICE and found people selling gear and they each had and extra grill in the 70’s style, one had ordered from Fliptops to replace her black grill, the other had one shipped from Ampeg back in the day. Unfortunately the second one is pretty water stained and I am trying to figure out the best way to refresh it to look as new as possible.
 
#37
greengoblin said:
I found a thread on here years back that stated Easy Off Oven Cleaner worked well on cleaning paint and such off the cloth. I was a bit hesitant at first since it seems like a harsh chemical. My cloth looked as though someone tried to paint it black and had some other weird paint anomalies on it. I had ordered Fliptop cloth so I figured if I did ruin the factory cloth I had a back-up. Went the Easy Off route and it actually worked very well! It removed most of the black paint and brought back a lot of the silver and blue. Uncovered a very faint skull someone painted a long time ago that you almost have to look for... But afterwards I was happy with the result and decided to keep it with the orig cloth...
Click to expand...

How did you use the Easy Off?
Did you remove the cloth from the frame?
Did you let the cleaner soak the cloth?

I have some, what looks like water stained cloth and I’d like to refresh it, so I’m looking at ways to try to get this extra grille that I have to look as new as possible. I wonder if the easy off is a good choice for these kinds of stains.

Also, can anyone tell me how they secured the cloth to the frame, what tool they used to staple it (electric staple gun?) and how they made it look straight?
 
#38
If you want to take a conservative approach, start with a soap and water cleaning. Simple green or an orange cleaner can be used as well. If that doesn’t get the stains out, dry dabbing the cleaner onto the cloth then rinse with a damp cloth. Some do this on the frame. The most aggressive approach is to apply a thick coat.

To do it right, you should remove the grille cloth from the frame. Once the cloth is formed, it’s easy to reapply it. It has to be well rinsed and this is difficult when it gets into the wood. Too much water on the frame can warp it.

With easy off use the spray. Apply it, work in with a sponge, rinse well over and over. Do this cleaning outside, the fumes are bad to breath. This will clean stains, it won’t restore the cloth colors to new. The plastic fades with time when it’s exposed to the sun over the years.

I don’t let it dry in the sun. The heat can shrink the cloth.

As always, spot test any cleaner on a portion that covers the back of the frame.

An electric or even better, an air stapler, is good to use. You get less bounce and the staple seats better. Technique is important here, you need a lot of downward force to avoid bounce. A hand srapler can be used but it’s harder.

I use a hardware store Arrow stapler, staples with ¼” legs.
 
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