Painting tolex

Telegator · December 29th, 2009, 11:36 AM

I'm not even sure if this is the right forum for this so if it needs moving I understand. My question is this...

Has anybody ever painted a tolex covered amp before? If so, what were the results?

My 15 year old son is wanting to paint a Fender Frontman 65R or Peavey Bandit 65 in his school colors. I know they make vinyl paint for automotive interiors etc. Will it hold up on an amp?

Stuco · December 29th, 2009, 11:48 AM

Yes, there are certain paints that work well with tolex. I think I read that krylon works with it (don't quote me on that). Like you said, there are certain paints for vinyls also. It will probably eventually chip and stuff if the amps are moved around but you can always recover the amp in new tolex (not that hard).

Dan German · December 29th, 2009, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telegator

I'm not even sure if this is the right forum for this so if it needs moving I understand. My question is this...

I know they make vinyl paint for automotive interiors etc. Will it hold up on an amp?

I used to freshen up used car interiors for a used car lot (only Mercedes, so no skeezy fly-by-night stuff allowed) and we re-dyed a lot of upholstery. If it held up there, it should work on tolex, which may get bumped and scuffed but doesn't have to flex or withstand the extreme heat and cold of a car interior. Try it on the underside first, and see how it works...

Southpaw Tele · December 29th, 2009, 02:23 PM

I'd be interested to see how this works out. Though, as stated earlier, you could just re-tolex. Have you considered looking for tolex in the school's colors?

bdgregory · December 29th, 2009, 05:04 PM

I painted an old and really grungy Peavey Studio Pro. It worked great and so far has held up fine. I used black paint - the Krylon that's made for painting plastic lawn furniture. My only complaint is the paint is a little glossier than I wanted.

JOHNNY FOWLER · December 29th, 2009, 09:05 PM

krylon fusion, clean the tolex good and spray to your choice of colors

Telegator · December 29th, 2009, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southpaw Tele

I'd be interested to see how this works out. Though, as stated earlier, you could just re-tolex. Have you considered looking for tolex in the school's colors?

No, I haven't sent him on that route yet and probably won't. He's 15 and rattle cans are one of the main weapons in his toolbox at this time LOL!

For what it is worth, his school colors are orange and black so all he would need is orange paint. And yes, they get teased about their school colors being the colors of Halloween.

I have an old Fender amp that came in a starter pack my nephew bought that lasted about ten minutes. A 15G or something like that. He was gonna throw it away but I took intending to use it to make a novelty out of, like a piggy bank or something but my son swiped the knobs off it for reasons unknown to me.

Anyway, it's gonna be our test subject. I'll try to post pics when we do it but it may be a while as the weather is gonna make our work building less than prime for painting conditions in January.

Ringo · December 30th, 2009, 09:57 AM

I have done auto interior work since 1983, yes you can get automotive finishes that are made for vinyl and plastic in aerosol cans.
But I doubt you will find any auto vinyl spray in orange, as there are VERY few cars if any cars with orange interiors.

The Krylon paint that is made for plastic may be the best option.

Also since you are talking about doing a drastic color change, if the orange is transparent at all it may not cover the black that well, so you might have to get some gray and do a primer coat first, then orange.

I've never used the Krylon, it may cover , I'd try spraying a back panel first if the amp has one, or something that is black and see how it does.

gpower · December 30th, 2009, 01:30 PM

You can get primer and paint specifically for vinyl. I've used it on boat seats and it works great.

Ringo · December 30th, 2009, 08:07 PM

yes you can get paint for vinyl at most automotive paint stores, and they can mix any auto laquer with a vinyl additive to get whatever color you want, but it is expensive that way, and you have to use a spray gun to apply it, it's not in an aerosol form.

SEM Colorcoat is what I have used for about 27 years, it's very good stuff, but I don't think they have it in orange in spray cans.

mr.fitz · December 30th, 2009, 10:18 PM

I re-did a peavey 1-12 cab with the krylon stuff (plastic/vynl) to compliment a vox hand wired head.It works o.k but takes a while to dry,and doesn't like the rubber feet of the head.
It's still a lot cheaper to do touch ups than buying a matching cab.
good luck,take care.K

December 29th, 2009, 11:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
Telegator Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Louisiana Age: 49 Posts: 200	Painting tolex I'm not even sure if this is the right forum for this so if it needs moving I understand. My question is this... Has anybody ever painted a tolex covered amp before? If so, what were the results? My 15 year old son is wanting to paint a Fender Frontman 65R or Peavey Bandit 65 in his school colors. I know they make vinyl paint for automotive interiors etc. Will it hold up on an amp?

December 29th, 2009, 11:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
Stuco Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: GA Posts: 5,391	Yes, there are certain paints that work well with tolex. I think I read that krylon works with it (don't quote me on that). Like you said, there are certain paints for vinyls also. It will probably eventually chip and stuff if the amps are moved around but you can always recover the amp in new tolex (not that hard). __________________ -"You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do" J. Garcia

December 29th, 2009, 02:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
Southpaw Tele Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Golden State Age: 37 Posts: 636	I'd be interested to see how this works out. Though, as stated earlier, you could just re-tolex. Have you considered looking for tolex in the school's colors? __________________

December 29th, 2009, 09:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
JOHNNY FOWLER Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: panama city, fla Age: 55 Posts: 278 19 Photos	krylon fusion, clean the tolex good and spray to your choice of colors __________________ Jesus , Changeing the world one heart at a time .

December 30th, 2009, 09:57 AM	#8 (permalink)
Ringo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 2,462	re color changing tolex I have done auto interior work since 1983, yes you can get automotive finishes that are made for vinyl and plastic in aerosol cans. But I doubt you will find any auto vinyl spray in orange, as there are VERY few cars if any cars with orange interiors. The Krylon paint that is made for plastic may be the best option. Also since you are talking about doing a drastic color change, if the orange is transparent at all it may not cover the black that well, so you might have to get some gray and do a primer coat first, then orange. I've never used the Krylon, it may cover , I'd try spraying a back panel first if the amp has one, or something that is black and see how it does.

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December 29th, 2009, 05:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
bdgregory Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 144	I painted an old and really grungy Peavey Studio Pro. It worked great and so far has held up fine. I used black paint - the Krylon that's made for painting plastic lawn furniture. My only complaint is the paint is a little glossier than I wanted.

December 30th, 2009, 01:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
gpower TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Halifax, NS Age: 55 Posts: 89	You can get primer and paint specifically for vinyl. I've used it on boat seats and it works great. __________________ Whether you think you can...or you can't...you're right!

December 30th, 2009, 08:07 PM	#10 (permalink)
Ringo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 2,462	re vinyl paint yes you can get paint for vinyl at most automotive paint stores, and they can mix any auto laquer with a vinyl additive to get whatever color you want, but it is expensive that way, and you have to use a spray gun to apply it, it's not in an aerosol form. SEM Colorcoat is what I have used for about 27 years, it's very good stuff, but I don't think they have it in orange in spray cans.

December 30th, 2009, 10:18 PM	#11 (permalink)
mr.fitz TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ottawa Canada Age: 38 Posts: 54	I re-did a peavey 1-12 cab with the krylon stuff (plastic/vynl) to compliment a vox hand wired head.It works o.k but takes a while to dry,and doesn't like the rubber feet of the head. It's still a lot cheaper to do touch ups than buying a matching cab. good luck,take care.K

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