Hey guys, so i've got this minty clean 1972 SL, but the tolex is pretty dusty looking and i'm wondering what is the safest way to detail clean the headshell? what do you recommend?
I would use dilute fairy liquid and a soft brush. if it were mouldy you could use bicarb solution (stuff for sterilising fridges).
I used an ordinary scrubby kitchen sponge and water when I got my 2204, scrubbed off dirt, grime, spray paint, no cleaning solutions necessary. And when I got the amp back from the tech after its maintenance it stunk like an ashtray (I was pissed!) and hosed the headshell down on my deck and scrubbed it with sponge and dish soap to get the stink out of it a little, took a few months for the smell to be totally gone. All clean
Make sure you remove the handle and chassis before cleaning. Id also recommend blowing a fan on the inside of the cab and let it sit for a week before reinstalling the chassis. I did a pretty thorough cleaning on mine with a tooth brush/soap, even around the piping, and it came out great.
I have a book on guitar and amp maintenance, and the author suggests using Armor-All, as long as it is the low gloss stuff. According to him you can also use lighter fluid and a rag to clean it and that will get a lot of grease and stuff off of it. My disclaimer is that I've used both of these methods, but if you try it and ruin your cabinet I am held harmless.
I've been using armor-all and/or pledge on mine. No clue if I'm doing any harm, but I haven't noticed any. Spray onto the cloth and rub on the tolex. They always look nicer after a little cleaning. Always amazed at the pics of cruddy-dirty amps on GC. You'd think people would clean 'm up a bit for trade-ins.
20+ years of idgit ownership is far more aging than 50 years of babying. Some things just have that tired hooker or old taxicab vibe
A dilute mix of Dawn soap and a medium soft brush will do a fine job. (No harder than a toothbrush.) Take the amp out when cleaning the cabinet. To do a really amazing job, if you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner, take the knobs off and give them a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner. That'll clean all the dirt out of the valleys, crevices, and recesses.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As a collector, this is exactly what I do. Soft brush/tooth brush and water/ Dawn dish soap. Fine make up brush to get under dials, be careful cleaning the lettering/faceplate. I have used a vinyl protectant like Armor All if really dull and faded.
For cleaning faceplates I recommend a q-tip, mild soap and water, and a very patient, careful touch. NO SOLVENTS. The ink they used to silkscreen the panels 40 to 50 years ago isn't going to take much of that. But...if you have an original panel that is in very straight, clean condition aside from missing lettering, I can in many instances actually rescreen it to restore it to its original state. The limitation is that it has to lay flat and not have any dents, bends, or wrinkles in it, unless they're small and well away from the printed areas. I can't silk screen or digitally print inside a dent, scratch, or divot.
Looks like the 'Fairy' brand is the equivalent of Dawn here in the UK. I'll try it with a couple of very dusty '67 2x12s. Suppose I should use a brush to get the loose dust off first. Don't want the shiny/slippery finish though, so I'll leave it at that. They've got some missing corners so I think it'd look weird if the tolex was sparkly clean.
I've also got a dusty Budda SD30 that needs a bit of a clean. That one is in perfect condition, so I might try the Armor-All treatment to get it looking like new.
