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Tolex cleanup

#10
I used to use ArmorAll until I read about Maguire's Mirror Glaze Professional Rubber and Vinyl Cleaner on a similar thread here... Tried it, and this stuff is the real-deal! Cleans without coating, restores luster and treats the tolex/vinyl/whatever...

I used a soft brush to get it into the grain... beautiful. You can find it in the automotive department... I'd give credit to the original poster, but I cannot find the thread...

[edit] Credit to Kelly Lee in This Thread... Thanks KL!! [/edit]

-robert
 
#13
Tried everything under the sun to remove scuffs, fill in scratches, rejuvenate faded areas on my grain-vinyl covered amps until I discovered good old (paste-style--not liquid) black shoe polish. Unbelievable coverage and finishing with a typical soft bristle shoe polish brush, the polish residue is completely removed, leaving a dull but reasonable shine (without looking like you just Armor-All'd it) and the black base of the shoe polish fills in and hides all but the paint-based scratches (you know: rubbing the amp along that white trimmed bar table).

One piece of advice when applying: Use a T-shirt type rag and moisten it before swirling into the shoe polish tin to get some material for applying. Then apply the material in a circular motion on a 6 inch area of the amp. Don't do more than 1/3 or 1/2 of one flat area before wiping vigorously with another dry rag/towel. Then finish by buffing with that soft brush.

Sorry for the late reply.
 
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#14
tulkas said:
No man, the soap sux, allready try it.

Come on, don't spam the topic.
Click to expand...

This poster is not "spamming the topic" and in fact that is a genuinely good answer. Dishwashing detergent, water and a fingernail brush is pretty much what I use to clean up old tolex. If it's harder to clean than that I will use some diluted Simple Green cleaner with a brush.

Pretty much any decent cleaner or soap made for vinyl will be fine. There was no reason to be a jerk to this person who gave a valid answer.
 
#15
#16
And you probably wouldn't get "spam" responses if you searched first...you're not the first person who wanted to clean his or her Tolex. Here, I searched for you:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/remove-dust-my-cabs-tolex-598015/

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/best-method-cleaning-tolex-497219/

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/cleaning-up-cab-384386/

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/cleaning-tolex-best-thing-409778/

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/tips-cleaning-tolex-213830/


You'll notice soap and water gets mentioned quite often.
 
#20
I used car wash soap. A capful in a two gallon bucket.
Worked surprisingly well on a very dusty dirty looking early nineties Peavey 215D.
Car wash soap is a lot less aggressive than dish or laundry detergent.
Tried to position the cabinet so I was always working on a vertical surface.
Tilted it one way or the other with scraps of wood so the water wouldn't run onto the drivers or front panel.
Using a brush is key.
Rinse with water and the brush again.
Saw all the detritus on my driveway the next day. Yep it was that dirty.

Mitt Romney says I could have just strapped onto the car and ran it through the car wash.
 

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