Help removing black paint from Tolex on '62 Fender Brownface

[ampfab]

I was just talking to a friend who successfully used goof-off to remove paint from both the tolex and grille cloth on an old super reverb.

[Toppscore]

I was just talking to a friend who successfully used goof-off to remove paint from both the tolex and grille cloth on an old super reverb.

Goof-Off is now officially on my buy list. I have purchased some metal/chrome
rust/corrosion removers. Now, for paint removers, I'll try to locate:

1) Goof-Off
2) Green Sparkle
3) Zip Strip Paint Remover for TOLEX & GRILL CLOTH

I've no problem buying all three.
Will go down trying one by one and see how they do

I do wonder about using duct-tape to strip-off paint, but will give it
a try if the liquid paint removers do not work out. Thanks again.

[Reeltarded]

Motsenbocker's Liftoff 4 Acryllic Enamel and Spray Paint Remover

[crbowman]

Of course it will depend on exactly what kind of paint was used but.....
I have an old '62 blonde 6G6 B bassman that someone had painted black.
On the advice of a restoration guy here, I used Safest Stripper (a 3M product). Painted the entire head cab, tolex and grill cloth with the stuff, and took it to the car wash. (Go easy with the water pressure as this will soften up the tolex somewhat). Took every spec of black paint off of tolex and out of the grill cloth. Had to do a little re-gluing but results were freakin' amazing.
I then tried this method on an old Tremolux cab that had also been painted black and it didn't do anything but smear it around so......
YMMV.

[Structo]

Interesting, I have a 63 Jag hard case that some dumb kid (me) painted black.
It was originally white.

I have thought before about removing the black paint, but if I remember, it was beat to hell, therefore I painted it black.

[Toppscore]

Of course it will depend on exactly what kind of paint was used but.....
I have an old '62 blonde 6G6 B bassman that someone had painted black.
On the advice of a restoration guy here, I used Safest Stripper (a 3M product). Painted the entire head cab, tolex and grill cloth with the stuff, and took it to the car wash. (Go easy with the water pressure as this will soften up the tolex somewhat). Took every spec of black paint off of tolex and out of the grill cloth. Had to do a little re-gluing but results were freakin' amazing.
I then tried this method on an old Tremolux cab that had also been painted black and it didn't do anything but smear it around so......
YMMV.

Thank you, CRBowman. I will add 3M's Safest Stripper to my list.
Any knowledge of which/what type of paint worked well with Safest Stripper?
as well which paint gave SS a good fight.

Also, if you really went to the "car wash", was your amp a candidate
for "quality" vintage status? I'm thinking of water damage and water stains
to the original Fender cabinet wood after the car-wash.

Also, after the successful paint removal, does that amp look original?
or is it easy to discern the amp once had another paint applied?
is there any Tolex wear or damage?

Thank you for your responses

[crbowman]

Have a look.
Keep in mind it's been about 10 years since this amp was refurbed and it's seen a lot of use since. Tolex on the amp is all original, tolex on the cab is relatively new.
Head cab was spray painted flat black. Looked like they had just masked off the front and back control panels. It was really ugly and had been parted out. Fortunately, they had only scavenged a few components that were relatively easily replaced.
As for what they were painted with, I'm not sure as speaker cab and amp were acquired at different times from different people. If I had to make a guess I'd say the speaker cab must have been painted in some sort of oil based paint. I worked on it until the tolex finally just came loose.
The head on the other hand, gave me no problems whatsoever. came clean in about 3 minutes. Then dried it really good, and no problems with wood whatsoever.
You can see some scuff marks, some of which were the result of getting the spray nozzle too close to the tolex, but most of the wear you see has occurred naturally from use.
Paint on the head cab I had unsuccessfully tried to remove with denatured alcohol. I dunno, that may have softened it up some.
Just painted it with the stripper, let sit for about 15 minutes, took it to the car wash and there you have it.

[Buschman]

I have a brown covered 1960 4x10 Bassman that had black paint on it. I was able to pull most of it off with duct tape. I bet the gorilla tape would work well. I had a blonde bassman head that I removed paint with a pressure washer. Just be sure to dry it off quickly.

[Toppscore]

Have a look. Keep in mind it's been about 10 years since this amp was refurbed and it's seen a lot of use since. Tolex on the amp is all original, tolex on the cab is relatively new.

Head cab was spray painted flat black. Looked like they had just masked off the front and back control panels. It was really ugly and had been parted out. Fortunately, they had only scavenged a few components that were relatively easily replaced.

As for what they were painted with, I'm not sure as speaker cab and amp were acquired at different times from different people. If I had to make a guess I'd say the speaker cab must have been painted in some sort of oil based paint. I worked on it until the tolex finally just came loose.
The head on the other hand, gave me no problems whatsoever. came clean in about 3 minutes. Then dried it really good, and no problems with wood whatsoever.

You can see some scuff marks, some of which were the result of getting the spray nozzle too close to the tolex, but most of the wear you see has occurred naturally from use.

Paint on the head cab I had unsuccessfully tried to remove with denatured alcohol. I dunno, that may have softened it up some.
Just painted it with the stripper, let sit for about 15 minutes, took it to the car wash and there you have it.

Well. The paint is gone, but the picture quality probably does it some injustice.
Good to know that there is no black left. Did you protect the tube chart?


My 1962 Reverb Tank Unit looks good in black paint. It'd been in storage since
purchased 30 years ago till now, as I've since played with my 1965 Reverb Tank.

At the time in 1981, I didn't know it was a "paint over" as I wasn't looking for
that flaw. Didn't know about Tweed/Brown/Blonde/Black/Silver differences, etc.
Fender was Fender, to me. But, after pulling it out last month to try and
compare the reverb quality to my 1965 Reverb tank, 1964 Super Amp
and my 1964 Twin Reverb, I noticed the paint!!!

Thought I had a Blackface Fender Tank, but the tube chart and serial numbers
make it a 1962 (with black paint). It sounds fantastic, and is more vintage
than I'd thought, but now the "paint removal debate"

Glad you showed your pictures.

CRBowman . . . . Have you positioned your 1962 Blonde amp head
next to another original 1962 Blonde with medium usage wear?
How does your's stack-up on the visual comparison?

Can anyone detect something is not right?
or do most people commenting not say anything???

Thanks for your response.

[Toppscore]

I have a brown covered 1960 4x10 Bassman that had black paint on it. I was able to pull most of it off with duct tape. I bet the gorilla tape would work well. I had a blonde bassman head that I removed paint with a pressure washer. Just be sure to dry it off quickly.

Ouch!!! That is one of the most classic amps.
Should trial and hang the offender!

Personally, if the duct/gorilla tape does not work, I'd get it
restored at Gregg Hopkins. Awesome famous restoration work.

Gregg Hopkins
Vintage-Amp Restoration
728 Karlsruhe Place
St Louis, MO 63125
314-645-4102
Vintageamp@aol.com
www.Vintage-Amp.com

PICTURED BELOW ~
I own a 1964 Fender 5D6 4x10 Tweed Bassman
and've followed the other ten known 1954 5D6 Bassmans.
I've seen that most are not in good condition and have had
major restoration work, tweed recovering or cabinet work done
(some 1954 5D6's just look real bad with no work at all)

Check out Gregg Hopkins, just to see what he thinks
of your 1960 5F6A Bassman. He may have suggestions.

[Buschman]

I have a very strong suspicion that mine was recovered in Houston a long time ago. It has an H&H logo on it instead of the Fender Bassman logo and the speakers are painted a light metallic blue. I did find a date code on one of them with some lacquer thinner and some luck. I have never pulled up the brown tolex to see if there are tweed glue lines. 1960 would have been a transitional year and it could possibly be original but I have my doubts. It sounds great anyway but is pretty loud. I wouldn't mind Greg's input at all.

[teefus]

don't use goof-off indoors either. pretty strong fumes.

[Toppscore]

I have a very strong suspicion that mine was recovered in Houston a long time ago. It has an H&H logo on it instead of the Fender Bassman logo and the speakers are painted a light metallic blue. I did find a date code on one of them with some lacquer thinner and some luck. I have never pulled up the brown tolex to see if there are tweed glue lines. 1960 would have been a transitional year and it could possibly be original but I have my doubts. It sounds great anyway but is pretty loud. I wouldn't mind Greg's input at all.

Bushman ~ IMHO and experience, the 1960 5F6A 4x10 Bassmans
are really an over-run of the 1959 5F6A Bassmans.

Your's really seems like a "recover", but, who cares unless you think it's a
museum piece. The museum piece lovers that own amps that are not
original, always claim that Fender made beta amps, transitional amps,
pulled parts from other amp inventory, etc.

Just make it a player-amp as you probably have done. No harm in that.
The 5F6A's are considered one of the top sounding/tone amps of all time.

I have the 1954 5D6A and as you can see in the picture,
it's not a museum piece, but a player amp.
Most all original, maybe 95%.

But, my particular 1954 5D6 is the third oldest known from November 1954
when Fender began to first produce the 4x10 5D6 Bassmans. Fender halted
the production of the 5B6 1x15 Bassman during April/May 1954.
They took-off six(+) months to complete design, parts procurment,
production-line alterations, marketing materials, and testing to begin
developing Fender's first 5D6 4x10 Bassman during November 1954.

IMHO, mine is the most original/complete of the first November 1954 run of 83 5D6 Bassmans.
The second December 1954 5D6 production run of 89 5D6 Bassmans
has maybe a couple of original/complete 5D6 Bassman amps;
including the best known museum quality 5D6,
which happened to be the last known 5D6 ever produced
before Fender introduced the commercial 1955 5D6A/5E6/5E6A Bassmans.


Interesting is history of the Bassman, which supposedly influenced
Howard Dumble and Jim Marshall, among other amp pioneers.

My personal issue is playing my amp and maybe losing an output tranny
or the choke. But, you only live once and it is great to experience the first
ever Leo Fender produced 4x10 Bassman manufactured by anyone, anywhere.

That's why I suggest your amp is great, no matter the originality
or exterior condition. Hope this info helps.

I do want to read through this forum's past posts and learn more about
the Trainwreck and Dumble amp history and why they are known to be
so valuable, besides scarcity

[mr_hankey]

I have the 1954 5D6A and as you can see in the picture,
it's not a museum piece, but a player amp.
Most all original, maybe 95%.

All original 1954 except for one speaker and the handle.

So you're still playing it with its original electrolytics? Is 'danger' your middle name?

[Toppscore]

I have the 1954 5D6A and as you can see
in the picture, it's not a museum piece, but a player amp.
Most all original, maybe 95%. All original 1954 except for
one speaker and the handle.

So you're still playing it with its original electrolytics?
Is 'danger' your middle name?

Thanks. I'd the amp tuned up in 2/2011 & 11/2012.
No problems at all with the originals. Till this week.
Six electorlytes filter capacitiors are being changed
to Blue Sprague Atoms as we speak.


The original Astrons lasted 59 years. Amazing.
Bummer, in a good way. Toppscore