Cleaning Up My Twin

[Raider08]

Hey guys,

You all saw that I got my Twin at a great deal, but it needs a little work for it to look as good as it sounds. My other thread got a bit heated over BF Vs. SF, so please realize that the intention here is not to change the amp.. Just make it so that I don't have to worry about it falling apart and it doesn't look so awful next to my Vox.

That being said, suggestions are more than welcome as I've never really done a project like this before.

This is where we started.

It's tough to tell in these photos, but the entire grill cloth has been spray painted silver, as has any chrome on the amp. Also, somebody spray painted the tolex brown.. The brown doesn't look awful, so I'll keep it till I can save the cash for a new covering job.

First job up is getting the paint off the chrome parts.

I'll get pics up pretty quick, because I got most of it done last night.

 

[LeftyF2003]

Wow, did you ever get a deal! Here's some spruce up parts that would go a long way to making it look better:

Knobs:

6 Fender 1-10 Vintage Twin Reverb Amplifier Amp Knobs | eBay

Grill cloth:

Black & Silver Grill Cloth For Fender Amp twin reverb | eBay

Face plate:

Seems the only easily found dealer with face plates is in Europe - not sure from the pics how that one will clean up, but if you need one try:

Faceplate: Twin Reverb (Master Vol.), silverface Tube Amp Doctor - TAD Tools & more

Otherwise just scrub the thing down and get all that paint off.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm still jealous.

 

[Raider08]

Wow, did you ever get a deal! Here's some spruce up parts that would go a long way to making it look better:

Knobs:

6 Fender 1-10 Vintage Twin Reverb Amplifier Amp Knobs | eBay

Grill cloth:

Black & Silver Grill Cloth For Fender Amp twin reverb | eBay

Face plate:

Seems the only easily found dealer with face plates is in Europe - not sure from the pics how that one will clean up, but if you need one try:

Faceplate: Twin Reverb (Master Vol.), silverface Tube Amp Doctor - TAD Tools & more

Otherwise just scrub the thing down and get all that paint off.

Thanks for the tip


Here's where were at after several hours with 0000 steel wool

Notice, that I've still got some work to do on the front left side of the face, but it doesn come off with some work.

These were thick enough with that silver paint, that I couldn't even tell that the stand said fender on it... There was also a layer of Yellow and Red..

Next is the Fender logo and the rest of the face.. If anyone has 3 knobs for it with the screws that look a bit beat up, I'd be happy to buy them off of you. I kinda like the older look of these after I've cleaned them up.

 

[rjwilson37]

Did you really only pay $130 dollars?

 

[slapshot]

knobs & grillcloth.I'd leave the faceplate as is.fresh knobs will make a world of difference there.
If you scrub it you may take the writing off too.

 

[Raider08]

Did you really only pay $130 dollars?

Actually... $90 after trading an old solid state at the pawn shop..

And I figured somebody would bring up cleaning the writing off. I'm mostly using the steel wool to take off the bigger gunk and I'm watching out for all the original paint. Some of it is gross enough that I'm willing to take the risk on it. I agree about the grill cloth though.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

I would replace the cosmetic for Silverface or Blackface cosmetics. That way the amp looks spotless. The cabinet and covering look spotless. You can pick if you want the SF or BF look (actual cosmetics, NOT wiring mods) but the links listed above to get parts is a GREAT idea. I would recommend changing the faceplate, knobs, and grille cloth to either clean SF, BF, or any other you want.

Enjoy the amp! Let us know how it goes remodeling/recovering it!

 

[Raider08]

Probably the last set of pics I'll have up today..

I had it open yesterday and took a few shots of the inside of the head. I figured you amp builder guys would enjoy.

 

[chriseskew24]

Wow you lucky lucky lucky dog

 

[LeftyF2003]

So you found the last pawn shop in the country that doesn't know what an original 70s silver face Twin Reverb goes for (even with the odd paint work)? Mine can tell you the current value of almost any music gear that comes through the door on sight. Makes it hard to get a deal.

At the very least I would do the grill cloth. If you have a heavy duty carpenters' stapler (or can borrow one) it's not terribly difficult to do and not expensive.

The chassis looks really clean. Was 1/2 expecting 2 coats of house paint on all the internal components! P2P wired twin working for $90.00? You live under a very lucky star my friend...

 

[Raider08]

I've been researching the amp a little more.. I thought it was a late 70's twin, but the serial code on the chassis says that it's a 1973. That makes a little more sense considering it's not got the push pull on the Master Volume.

 

[LeftyF2003]

Also the fact that it's a point to point wired chassis I think dates it more to the early 70s at the latest.

 

[Raider08]

I've got a bit more done today.

I've added casters to it so that I don't have to keep lugging it around the hard way. Also, I got the old silver grill cloth off. Since the tolex is brown, I've ordered a 36X36 piece of Oxblood grill cloth to replace it.

I've still got the knobs to take care of, and I think a new handle is going to be in order... This one had red and yellow paint in it.

 

[Raider08]

The new Grill cloth will be in on tuesday, and I'll try to get some pics up when I get it on...

on a side note.. found an empty 2X12 on craigslist for $25.00 today.. If anybody is in west texas, apparently there's a ton of good deals out here