What can you all tell me about replacing the covering on an amp?

I picked up a Fender Sidekick Reverb 65 a few weeks ago for $50. It's a decent little solid state amp, but the black Tolex has seen better days. I don't think it has any collector’s value, so how difficult would it be to re-cover it with a Tolex or fabric tweed? If I thought it had any value as a collector I wouldn't touch it, but in this case it would sure spiff it up a bunch.

I can find the material easy enough, but what would be the right way to get this done?

Thanks,

Ricky D

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Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

Hi RickyD: I think you'll find getting the old tolex off surprisingly difficult. From what I've heard elsewhere that's a job and a half.

Here's a factory tour video from Marshall. From around 15:20 they get to the cabinet covering section. Those boys are doing speedy and skillful work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V9jRuN ... PL&index=1

That's what you need to emulate. Get practicing your hospital bed corners...

Cheers - C

PS Earlier in that vid we see mid-price AVT amps being built from scratch in the UK factory. Which scotches a rumour that was running around here a couple of weeks ago...

What?! Rumours here on the Fender Forum?! You must be joking!

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Hey Ceri - thanks for the response and the video. I was kinda thinking the same about removing the Tolex. Maybe I'll try heating it - the video talked about the boxes being warmed prior to application.

I'd just really like the look of two tone tweed and black on this amp. Maybe I'll give it a shot.

Thanks again for the help! BTW - an old trick for hospital bed corners. Get a straight edge ruler, slide it under the sheet and use it to help fold things straight as you are folding up your corners. Even a metal clothes hanger will give you an edge to fold up against. I learned a few things after 23 years of the military!

_________________
Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

Hi again Ricky - no probs. And by the way, if you go ahead with it some of us would be seriously interested to see how you get on. Photos would be great - the re-covering and the stripping of the original tolex would be fascinating to watch.

From what you say it sounds like you are the very man to make a perfect job of those corners!

Best of luck with it - C

The one thing I would add here is that if you haven't done this kind of work before, try doing a practice piece -before- you start working on the amp itself. It's not that hard to build a "square box" out of plywood roughly shaped like an amp

This way, if you find you're not happy with your results, you haven't damaged the amp itself. Yea, it costs you a little extra in material but the practice will certainly pay for that when it comes time to do the real thing. Hell, if you do a decent job on the practice piece, you could also slap a speaker in it later and use it as an extension cab.

When you do finally go to do the amp itself, a quick word about heating it...personally I'd remove the chassis, speaker and components first. After that, if you look at places like painting supply shops and such you can find...well...I don't know what they're call exactly but basically it looks like a variation on a clothes iron. I'd work slowly and peel gently as you work the old covering with the iron.

Good luck and as other's have said, let us know how it turns out...I have an old Lab L5 that I've been thinking about recovering for years now.

Peace,
Jim

Jim - you and I are on the same wavelength. I had thought of doing a mock-up first for the reasons you mention, then, once I start the real project, strip the amp down to the case as you describe before I start the Tolex removal process. I'm thinking about finding a cheap, off-brand pawn shop amp to be my "lab rat", since I've never tore into an amp before.

Ceri - I lke your idea. Build projects (like yours ) are the most enjoyable posts I read.

Look for this project later in the winter - I like the idea and promise to do a lot of pictures.

Thanks again!

Rick

_________________
Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

I recently re covered an old Kustom amp I use as a stage monitor. I got sick of black so I went to the local fabric store and picked up some blue vinyl. The hardest part was the rounded corners around the controls. I ended up doing it twice because I messed up the first time. I would definately recommend a practice run on something else. The final result was very satisfying though. I'll post pics as soon as I can.