small repairs on tweed cabinet

[Chris Paget]

I have done a few reads on other forums and the general consensus is: "Don't repair or worry about it! People love artifact vintage amps!" Well... sometimes damage happens before you want it to, or you just want to give it a good cleaning / once over.

While a good scrubbing using basic cleaner and rag will help, is there anything you all use to repair light wear, scratched or scuffed areas, corner/edge wear? It just seems like there would be a "tweed reconditioner," oil-based formula or wax, etc. If it were wood, I'd say layers of polyurethane.. but a protectant that is applied in layers in a similar way comes to mind. Especially as "tweed" conveys a pretty closely matchable range of colors, it should not be hard to create a universal one. If there is not something out there, there should be!

What do you all use, if anything?

 

[Chris Paget]

Just came across this. Maybe poly is the answer! Tweed lacquering..polyurethane?? - The Steel Guitar Forum

One poster makes cabs using amber shellac followed by satin poly. Sounds like something worth trying out.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I made two tweed covered cabs. I finished them with several (like maybe 6 or more) coats of shellac to get the hue that I liked. You can buy premade shellac in plain/white and orange/amber, and mix to suit. You can also make it from scratch by visiting a woodworkers store and asking the old timers for guidance.

Since it’s alcohol based, don’t cut it too thin with too much denatured alcohol or apply too heavy of a first coat as you don’t want to compromise the adhesive used to bond the tweed to the wood.

 

[Chris Paget]

Excellent advice on the alcohol and wood bond. Will definitely keep that in mind.