How to remove sticky residue from my stripped 68 cab ??

[79 2203]

Today, after nearly 10 years of ownership, I decided to strip the dodgy looking tolex from my poorly re-finished 68 straight cab. Very happy with the results, however it is very sticky to the touch. Is there any method or product to remove the sticky residue ??

 

[BlueX]

Seems to be the right thing to do. Some people sand away old tolex glue. Takes some time, but leaves a good surface after.

Word of advice, if previous re-tolex was done long ago: Sometimes glue was mixed with asbestos fibers (to make it easier to work with).

 

[PelliX]

Any idea when this cab was re-tolexed? I'm fairly sure that the glue should have dried since it was produced, hehe. Anyhow, I'd probably be sanding it down anyway to re-finish it. Is that actually your plan?

 

[79 2203]

Any idea when this cab was re-tolexed? I'm fairly sure that the glue should have dried since it was produced, hehe. Anyhow, I'd probably be sanding it down anyway to re-finish it. Is that actually your plan?

No idea when it was done but I’d say it was decades ago. It’s dry, but sticky. I’ve thought about having it re-finished previously but haven’t found anyone locally who’ll do it. In any case I really like the natural look and I think I’ll leave it as is and just try and find someone to re-grill it so it matches the salt n pepper basketweave of my other 68.

 

[Nadir]

Sanding a sticky surface, be it glue or resin, is a real PITA.
I suggest to re-tolex it.

 

[BygoneTones]

Paint stripper and scraper. It will fly off. Then give it a light sanding.

 

[Brewster]

What are the date codes of the speakers? The cabinet might have had pinstripe if its an early build.

 

[Bull Rock]

I kinda like the bare wood look. A nice stain on there would be great.

 

[PelliX]

Paint stripper and scraper. It will fly off. Then give it a light sanding.

Paint stripper as in terpentine? Doesn't that mess with the wood? Just curious.

 

[RLW59]

Paint stripper as in terpentine? Doesn't that mess with the wood? Just curious.

When refinishing guitars or furniture, it's common to use chemical strippers to remove the old finish before applying new finish. Even stuff like "aircraft stripper" is safe for wood.

Turpentine is old school, mostly for oil-based finishes. (It'll remove other stuff too, but it's generally not the first choice nowadays.)

For a gooey glue, straight acetone might be a good starting point.

 

[PelliX]

When refinishing guitars or furniture, it's common to use chemical strippers to remove the old finish before applying new finish. Even stuff like "aircraft stripper" is safe for wood.

Hmmm, that's funny that you mention it. I have a cheap Tele with a finish that ... uhm, almost causes me to taste my previous meal all over again. It's the modern poly and thick, too. Initially I was reading about how to remove it in order to re-finish the guitar and came across a single chemical that does the trick - aircraft stripper. I figured it might damage the wood and/or glue joints (no, the body is not one solid piece), so I let it be. Perhaps I'll re-visit that one day.

For a gooey glue, straight acetone might be a good starting point.

Fair call, I've seen acetone used a fair deal for that. How about MEK? That's about the most aggressive stuff I have laying about, apart from maybe brake cleaner.

 

[RLW59]

MEK is a great solvent, but it's toxic enough that people have gotten afraid of it.

 

[PelliX]

MEK is a great solvent, but it's toxic enough that people have gotten afraid of it.

It's one of those bottles that I treat with care, ensure proper ventilation and avoid skin contact as much as possible with, yes. I thought it was probably impossible to buy without a business requirement or such, but there's a paint outlet kinda place here that sells it dirtcheap in regular litre bottles. Right next to it they have all kinds of acid and pure acetone (no perfume), too. Obviously they also have the 99% alcohol, terps, etc.

 

[RLW59]

Hmmm, that's funny that you mention it. I have a cheap Tele with a finish that ... uhm, almost causes me to taste my previous meal all over again. It's the modern poly and thick, too. Initially I was reading about how to remove it in order to re-finish the guitar and came across a single chemical that does the trick - aircraft stripper. I figured it might damage the wood and/or glue joints (no, the body is not one solid piece), so I let it be. Perhaps I'll re-visit that one day.



Fair call, I've seen acetone used a fair deal for that. How about MEK? That's about the most aggressive stuff I have laying about, apart from maybe brake cleaner.

A long time ago I stripped a MIM Strat using aircraft stripper gel. Smeared it on, put the body in a black plastic trash bag, set it out in the sun for a few hours.

It dissolved the top clear coats and the color coats so they'd just wipe off. But it didn't touch the clear base coat. So I repeated the process. It made the base coat swell a little and turn milky/cloudy but didn't dissolve it. Softened it enough that I could use a paint scraper to chip most of it off. Next day I went through many sheets of sandpaper to get to bare wood.

Nowadays they say the best way to strip poly is with a heat gun. You do have to be careful not to scorch the body. And if the top or back have thin veneers there's risk of lifting them.

First vid I found on Google -- pretty long and there are lots of other vids:

 

[79 2203]

What are the date codes of the speakers? The cabinet might have had pinstripe if its an early build.

July 68 t1221 Pulsonics. Labeled 20 but definitely 25 watt by then. Someone on one of the forums years ago said the speakers hadn’t been removed(not sure how they would know ??) so I’m assuming they are original to the cab.
But yeah, pinstripe is my favourite look so might go with that.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Today, after nearly 10 years of ownership, I decided to strip the dodgy looking tolex from my poorly re-finished 68 straight cab. Very happy with the results, however it is very sticky to the touch. Is there any method or product to remove the sticky residue ??

Put some new glue over it and attach the new tolex. Done!

 

[vogonpoet]

nice cab!

I have a '68 that's been stripped & clearcoated, looks pretty much like yours now. I have been mulling over retolexing it but it's a lot of work.

Do you know what the original grillcloth was on yours? Mine looks to be cane, I think they only used cane on the purple cabs? But I could be wrong.

 

[79 2203]

nice cab!

I have a '68 that's been stripped & clearcoated, looks pretty much like yours now. I have been mulling over retolexing it but it's a lot of work.

Do you know what the original grillcloth was on yours? Mine looks to be cane, I think they only used cane on the purple cabs? But I could be wrong.

If the speakers are original to the cab then July 68 would be salt n pepper basketweave.
Yeah there’s no way I’d be able to re-tolex it, and I’ve actually struggled to find anyone to do it. I think I’ll just leave it.

 

[Beryllium-9]

Bygone is right! Use the gel stripper and lacquer thinner. Once it looks good fine clean with Bug and Tar remover from an auto parts store. That will prepare it for whatever you want to stick to it.
Go slow.
Sadly the tolex and parts that are available for restoration these days is complete garbage.

 

[BygoneTones]

Paint stripper as in terpentine? Doesn't that mess with the wood? Just curious.

It's designed to protect the wood but remove the paint. Not turpentine. This is the stuff I normally use:

Brush it on generously, let it sit for a few mins and absorb into the glue, and then scrape it off. I've stripped loads of cabs that way in the past. Easy to do, but all the gunk that comes off the cab can get messy.

Use a small flat head screwdriver to do the piping channels.