Vinyl Dye for Tolex

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

I picked up a Peavey Classic 30 a couple of years ago but never cared for the "tweed" tolex. I considered recovering it but couldn't find a color that suited me. I knew that the vintage car guys use vinyl dye to restore new color to interior trim, so I thought I'd give it a try. The dye actually penetrates into the surface of the vinyl, so it shouldn't crack, peel, or scratch like paint. It also doesn't blur the grain pattern in the vinyl.

Here are the before and after photos:

Time will tell if the dye is as durable as advertised, but I noticed when I disassembled the amp that the tweed pattern was just printed on the surface, so it probably wouldn't have worn very well anyway.

Rick Johnson · From: Wheelwright, Ky USA

Lynn

Let me the first to say WOW Winking

Thats a great improvement from
the cheap vinyl tweed.

Keep us posted on how well it wears.

I'm glad you posted these pics for
everyone.

Rick

www.rickjohnsoncabs.com

Doug Earnest · From: Branson, MO USA

I like that a lot!! What is the brand name of the stuff and where do you get it???

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

The stuff I used is called Varikote. Parasol will match any color you want with a minimum order of six aerosol cans (or a quart if you use a sprayer), or will mix any formula they have in their files with a minimum order of two aerosol cans. They have done a lot of matches for Behr colors (sold at Home Depot) so I just used one of those they had on file. I needed two aerosol cans to do two coats of the final color.

Because the brown "threads" in the tweed were pretty dark, I used a primer coat first:

There are a number of brands of vinyl dye on the market, but you have to read the fine print as some are actually paints that will adhere to vinyl instead of dyes the penetrate the vinyl.

This stuff is very forgiving of less than professional spraying technique, as it just seems to soak in and even out. A couple days later I came back and sprayed a tiny spot I had missed, and it blended in perfectly. Drying time is about five minutes; thirty minutes if you are changing colors.

Lee Jeffriess · From: Vallejo California

Lynn, is that peavey amp covering, vinyl like automotive upholstery?.
Do you think this product would work on naugahyde/tolex, like on a Fender amp.
Did you buy yours at home depot?.
Lee

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

Tolex is a trade name for the material used to cover Fender amps, but most of us use tolex to refer to any similar material used to cover amps. It consists of a thin layer of vinyl with a fabric backing. Here is one source for tolex. The "Tweed Pattern Lite Brown Striped Tolex" on that page is probably what was used on my Peavey.

Marine upholstery is a thicker layer of vinyl with a mesh backing. I don't know specifically about automotive upholstery.

Unless your amp uses an unusual covering I would expect the dye to work fine. To cover dark colors with lighter colors you may need to use a primer layer, and you are limited to four total coats of dye--the maximum that will penetrate the vinyl.

I used the Behr color chips at Home Depot to select a color but purchased the dye direct from Parasol at the link I posted earlier. You can get vinyl dye at auto parts stores if you can find a color you want; just be sure that it is actually a dye and not a vinyl paint. FWIW, Varikote is quite a bit more expensive than the brands sold in auto parts stores.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

What was the primer you used? I assume the covering on my Delta Blues is the same tolex. Maybe now I can have a blue Delta Blues! The amp is so heavily modded that a change in color won't hurt it's value.

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

The primer was just a different color of dye. In this case I used the standard tan color.

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