Cleaning your amp

[Rkorn]

Hey!!
Any ideas on how to get the tolex cleaned??
And on how to make The front plate shining again??
The amp was bought second hand and it is really dirty!!! But without any damages or damaged tolex! Just really dirty!

 

[DaveSwenson]

Water with a little soap, and some ArmorAll worked for me.

Swen

 

[58boogie]

Start with a damp rag and get most of the dirt off.

Fender had a product called amp and case restorer, made by Meguiars GREAT stuff:
http://stinnettsmusic.com/Fender-Meguiars-AmpCase-Restorer/M/B004SJS34O.htm?traffic_src=bing_shopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=bing_shopping

skip the regular armor all (too shiny and not a cleaner), if you can't find the fender stuff, use the regular armor all cleaner and follow with "natural finish detailer" , also good and low gloss:

http://www.armorall.com/products/view_product.php?product_id=14&main_group=1&category_index=protectants

as far as the treadplate, I don't have direct experience, but I have heard good things about Mothers mag
and aluminum polish:
http://www.mothers.com/02_products/05100-05101.html

 

[Don]

I don't recommend Armor All, but a damp cloth and tooth brush can make an amp look really good!

 

[Rkorn]

I'll be trying the damp cloth and toothbrush this week.
It's the cheapest. If doesn't work, i'll be going shopping then!

TKS!

 

[fjs]

I purchased all of my Mesa gear second hand, just like yours it was in great shape but needed a little TLC - at least to be as clean as I wanted it to be.

I used this stuff from Meguiars on just about every amp I have ever owned, it works absolute wonders on tolex, leather, badges, plastic, diamond plate, and that stupid brushed metal look that alot of amps have for a faceplate. It doesn't leave a film or a shine or any other BS. It just cleans. Make sure you get this one, there are many others packaged like it that leave a shine/film etc.

Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer

Just spray it on a microfiber and wipe as if you were detailing your car's dash. I always use your standard run of the mill microfiber towel

Microfiber Towels

If the tolex/leather is really dirty then you might want to use a few of these cleaning wipes from armorall. Again I used these on my own Roadster head and had great results - it had a little white paint on it on the bottom, looked like it picked it up from being set down on some woodwork that was painted white. Paint came right off. Just make sure you wipe this stuff off with a clean rag and then go over it with the quick detailer.


Armorall Cleaning Wipes

You may want to consider taking the amp out of the cabinet too just to make the cabinet easier to clean. Just be careful as you can screw it up bad if you don't take your time and pay attention.

I've never touched the diamondplate with anything other than the quick detailer as I heard it had a film on it that regular metal polish would take off.

Have fun!

 

[Gibson07]

For the diamondplate mix a small amount of white vinegar with a bowl of water and scrub away with a microfibre cloth. Cheap and works wonders, it even got all this sticky residue off my amp and left a nice shine with no film or residue.

 

[Resonant Alien]

Best thing for Tolex is a toothbrush and orange cleaner. Make sure the orange cleaner actually has "natural citrus extracts/solvents" in it, and is not just some generic cleaner with orange smell added. It is the natural citrus that does the hard work. I bought a white DR head that was completely roached - more gray/black than white. Now it looks nearly new.

 

[piggyboy]

damp microfibre cloth works pretty good.