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Picked up a sad 4x12 which had the tolex stripped off and was painted matt black. Unfortunately so was the grill cloth!

As it is matt I'm assuming it's water soluble so will try wire wool and water of the woodwork. There is remains of tolex glue all over under the paint so need to get that off.

But what about the grill cloth? Sadly it looks undamaged. Have taken the speakers out and removed the baffle from the cab. I'm really tempted to leave the cloth on the baffle and try to clean it. Seen posts on the Orange section of VABB about Fairy Power Spray which works on painted tolex. What would it do to grill cloth?

Nothing to lose I suppose as it is either that or replace it.

Any thoughts or advice?

PhilUK wrote:Any thoughts or advice?

What era of cab is it? For a brief period, the S&P grill cloth was sprayed black at the Hiwatt Factory. Is the piping still white or has that also been painted?

As I understand it, the original grill "cloth" was not really cloth but, rather, a woven paper product. As such, it does not survive significant moisture or harsh chemicals. Replacement grill is available, if you really want to make it look like new.

Dave

I'm guessing its a 71ish. The white piping is painted as well.

Sometimes you can remove the baffle and turn the grill cloth inside out.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is anyway to remove the paint without damaging the cloth.

Good Luck!

The paint seems to have seeped through to the rear of the grill so it isn't untouched on the back.

I've found some "eco friendly" paint stripper here in the UK called Home Strip. No fumes, safe for your goldfish etc. It's a gel which you put on and then leave.

Tried some on the cab but wasn't impressed as it didn't seem to do much, then I read the instructions! You leave it on for a while.
I removed a couple of strands (white and black) from the turned over edges of the grill and part part of them in a blob of gel overnight. Might have taken a little colour out of the black, but not much. The white was fine. The gel had reduced in size and was almost dry (think its water based).
Might be a job for a hot summers day when I can wash the gel off and dry the grill quickly.