Thread: Best way to remove painted Tolex from ply cabinet?

Personally I perfer to remove via a paint stripper. Just brush on and wait a little while then scrap off. I have used two types both made by Diggers and purchased from Bunnings. I perfer the one not marked for Industrial use.

I have also used a scraper to remove varnish from a table but that Varnish was cracking in places and once we got a start it was easy to remove.

Originally Posted by Christos

Personally I perfer to remove via a paint stripper. Just brush on and wait a little while then scrap off. I have used two types both made by Diggers and purchased from Bunnings. I perfer the one not marked for Industrial use.

I have also used a scraper to remove varnish from a table but that Varnish was cracking in places and once we got a start it was easy to remove.

I am a bit surprised that paint stripper will remove Tolex. It's a heavy vinyl(ish) covering that's glued onto the wood. Does the stripper dissolve through it and release the glue?

Any idea what it's stuck on with? Contact glue maybe? If so a hot air gun might the go, once you can peel off one corner and start getting the heat into it from the underside it should pull off slowly as you're blowing hot air onto it i reckon.

Originally Posted by Bluesy

I am a bit surprised that paint stripper will remove Tolex. It's a heavy vinyl(ish) covering that's glued onto the wood. Does the stripper dissolve through it and release the glue?

Opps I was thinking paint.

Originally Posted by carpoid

Any idea what it's stuck on with? Contact glue maybe? If so a hot air gun might the go, once you can peel off one corner and start getting the heat into it from the underside it should pull off slowly as you're blowing hot air onto it i reckon.

That's an idea ! Might give it a go tomorrow. Hot air is less drastic than a blowtorch

Originally Posted by Christos

Opps I was thinking paint.

That's OK. It's unusual in that someone has painted over the tolex to 'freshen' it up. Amps get very abused and scuffed up in the back of vans and trucks getting moved to gigs and home again all the time. For example the front edge is worn through everything back to the wood. That's how I know it is ply underneath.

Carpoid is on the money.


Regards Mike

This is a horrible job! And yes, the tolex is almost always stuck down with contact cement so that's what you're trying to soften and loosen. You have a ply cab and that's good (what sort or amp are we talking about, out of interest?). Once it's all off, make sure to clean all the residues of cement and gunk to make it easier to retolex (if that's what you're planning to do. I just did a quick google to check and unfortunately a great step-by-step on retolexing that was out there, including the annoyance of corners, is now a dead link. You'll find plenty of stuff around though, if that's what you plan to do.

have fun!

Originally Posted by 52RI

This is a horrible job! And yes, the tolex is almost always stuck down with contact cement so that's what you're trying to soften and loosen. You have a ply cab and that's good (what sort or amp are we talking about, out of interest?). Once it's all off, make sure to clean all the residues of cement and gunk to make it easier to retolex (if that's what you're planning to do. I just did a quick google to check and unfortunately a great step-by-step on retolexing that was out there, including the annoyance of corners, is now a dead link. You'll find plenty of stuff around though, if that's what you plan to do.

have fun!

It's a great old Aussie valve amp made by Maton. If the wood looks half decent, I will put a tough clear coat on it, otherwise, yes, re-tolexing is an option.

Well, sad news is that I was very wrong. Under all the layers of paint and tolex, the cabinet is NOT ply after all. It's only chipboard and some of it is moisture affected because it was never sealed on the inside.

At least I don't have to strip all the tolex off any more I am now looking at building a replacement cabinet using the old one as a plan.