Have they come up with a way to clean old tolex yet?

[Jo-]

So what's the trick to cleaning old tolex that's had 50 years of dust buliding up on it? I've got a couple of amps, one blonde and one black tolex) and the grime embedded into the texture is just horrendous.

I've tried using a light toothbrush and soap, rubbing alcohol, and while I can see I am getting dirt up it still looks like tata when it dries.

Is it possible to get tolex looking clean as new?

 

[Alnus Rubra]

There’s a few YT videos for this.

One guy uses car convertible top cleaner effectively.

I’m pretty sure that car dashboard cleaner would work as well. Maybe try on an inconspicuous area first.

Happy watching.

 

[John F]

Try a Magic Eraser, kitchen and/or bath versions.

 

[JasonE]

Both of the suggestions above are good. I have typically used something like 409 and a brush. I used a brush much more aggressive than a toothbrush. I used a wheel brush on one amp. It takes a lot of wiping off with a clean wet rag. The tolex can take quite a bit. It is pretty tough. It takes a lot more liquid than you like using. You have to sort of float the dirt out of the crevices as the brush pulls it out. I haven't found a better way to do this. The suggestions above are things I have not tried but definitely would have if I had thought of them.

 

[Going Modal]

Both of the suggestions above are good. I have typically used something like 409 and a brush. I used a brush much more aggressive than a toothbrush. I used a wheel brush on one amp. It takes a lot of wiping off with a clean wet rag. The tolex can take quite a bit. It is pretty tough. It takes a lot more liquid than you like using. You have to sort of float the dirt out of the crevices as the brush pulls it out. I haven't found a better way to do this. The suggestions above are things I have not tried but definitely would have if I had thought of them.

Indeed, sometimes you really need some sort of mild/medium scrub-brush to really pull the dirt out of the textured tolex...

 

[László]

Hard brushing will probably remove some of the vinyl covering from the underlying fabric, thereby weakening it. Whether that's necessary or not, I have no idea.

But I'm more into surfactants that make the dirt easier to remove from a fairly soft surface like Tolex. This product seems to do the job with a soft microfiber cloth, apparently there's no need to use a brush.

I haven't tried it, and therefore caveat emptor, but it looks like you could try some on a surface in the rear of the amp to see how it works before deciding whether to use it on the whole amp.

 

[ViperDoc]

Maybe work in some Pilsner. Then either it will look better or you won’t care.

 

[theDeepender]

So what's the trick to cleaning old tolex that's had 50 years of dust buliding up on it? I've got a couple of amps, one blonde and one black tolex) and the grime embedded into the texture is just horrendous.

I've tried using a light toothbrush and soap, rubbing alcohol, and while I can see I am getting dirt up it still looks like tata when it dries.

Is it possible to get tolex looking clean as new?

This would be after the cleaning. But once you have it relatively clean you might test a spot for this. When I got my Twin Reverb in ‘75, when it started getting a little dull, I used Pledge furniture polish on it and it looked like new. And it stayed like that through a lot of hauling around, getting stolen and found later in a pawn shop and returned, up until I traded it in almost 20 years later. It still looked new. Now I did keep it covered when not in use and tried to limit Sun and weather exposure. The dude who bought it was ecstatic.