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Tolex seams coming loose on amplifier

fretlessman71

fretlessman71

Still beats havin' a job
Supporting Member
Aug 8, 2005
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#1
My amp lives in my car, and over the years, the tolex has come loose at the seams, and I'd like to glue them down so they don't get worse.

1. First, I thought I'd use JB Weld, as it worked a treat on a tear in the same tolex, but I found that it didn't spread out underneath very well. I had some rubbing alcohol nearby, and I thought that might thin it out. WRONG! There was a chemical reaction and there is now this white lumpy/powdery stuff along the seam (which is not glued down at all). Best way to get rid of it?

2. What is the BEST way to glue down those seams?
 
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#5
fretlessman71 said:
Is that the same as what we used to call "rubber cement"?
Click to expand...
When I hear rubber cement, I think of brushing it onto poster board and sticking pictures or some other paper object to it. If you were careful, you could pull it apart later with little or no damage.
PTE0NDU

Contact cement is different. Brush it on both parts, let it set up until no longer tacky, and then push those parts firmly together. Be sure everything is where you want it before they touch, because you probably won't get them apart without destroying one or both pieces.
dC1DZW1lbnQuanBn
 
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#10
boxerrider said:
When I hear rubber cement, I think of brushing it onto poster board and sticking pictures or some other paper object to it. If you were careful, you could pull it apart later with little or no damage.
PTE0NDU

Contact cement is different. Brush it on both parts, let it set up until no longer tacky, and then push those parts firmly together. Be sure everything is where you want it before they touch, because you probably won't get them apart without destroying one or both pieces.
dC1DZW1lbnQuanBn
Click to expand...
Correct, ding ding ding, we have a winner answer!
 
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#12
fretlessman71 said:
My amp lives in my car, and over the years, the tolex has come loose at the seams, and I'd like to glue them down so they don't get worse.

1. First, I thought I'd use JB Weld, as it worked a treat on a tear in the same tolex, but I found that it didn't spread out underneath very well. I had some rubbing alcohol nearby, and I thought that might thin it out. WRONG! There was a chemical reaction and there is now this white lumpy/powdery stuff along the seam (which is not glued down at all). Best way to get rid of it?

2. What is the BEST way to glue down those seams?
Click to expand...
It would have been better to ask this question BEFORE just trying something and creating a new more difficult problem.

what it sound like is that the old adhesive reacted to the alcohol. It may have also damaged the Tolex backing.

I don’t know how to fix this because it’s possible to make things even worse.

The go to adhesive is contact cement (not rubber cement, follow the instructions), but it’s likely that the Tolex has shrunk back and there will always be a gap. The cheaper the vinyl, the bigger the gap. Genuine Tolex is pretty dimensionally stable, other vinyls not so much.
 
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#13
boxerrider said:
When I hear rubber cement, I think of brushing it onto poster board and sticking pictures or some other paper object to it. If you were careful, you could pull it apart later with little or no damage.
PTE0NDU

Contact cement is different. Brush it on both parts, let it set up until no longer tacky, and then push those parts firmly together. Be sure everything is where you want it before they touch, because you probably won't get them apart without destroying one or both pieces.
dC1DZW1lbnQuanBn
Click to expand...
Yep +1 Weldwood. I have had great success covering many amp and PA cabs with Tolex and Weldwood and it was also the best when Ozite was a thing.
 

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