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Post new topic 1972 Fender Pro Reverb Amp, tolex smell
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Author Topic:  1972 Fender Pro Reverb Amp, tolex smell
Lee Dassow


From:
Jefferson, Georgia USA
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 5:37 pm    
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I just picked up an old 72 silverface Fender Pro Reverb for 600.00 from one of the guys I jam with. He couldn't handle the weight.Had the original tubes,Instruction book and hang tags too. Condition very good. The problem is I cant get the Cigarette smell out of the Tolex. I've tried everything and nothing works. Anybody got any ideas what would get rid of that odor. Tenn.Lee
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2015 Mullen D-10 Royal Precision 9x8,-1990 BMI S-10 5x5-1972 Silver face Fender pro Reverb amp,-1965 Fender Super Reverb Amp,- 1966 Fender Showman Amp Two 15" JBL speakers,- 2006 65 Fender Twin Reverb reissue Amp,- 1982 Peavey Session 500 amp,-1978 Peavey Session 400,Goodrich Volume Pedals,John Pearse Steel Bars,
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Doug Earnest


From:
Branson, MO USA
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 6:13 pm    
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The whole thing probably stinks, not just the tolex covering.

I think you just pry the grille cloth assembly off, or maybe on an older one like that you have to unscrew it from the inside.

409 spray cleaner is good for cleaning the cloth. Good old Dawn dish soap mixed strong is very good for the tolex, and for the cloth too for that matter. Use it on a good sponge and do a little at a time.

A good bath will do wonders for it, but you about have to tear the thing completely apart to really clean it up. The cabinet and chassis probably are covered with crud too. That nicotine baked onto the hot chassis is a bugger to clean. Be careful if you pull the chassis out, there are things in there that can kill you.

Scrub away, you have a great amp!
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 6:57 pm    
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Everybody's got their own method and materials. I always use Windex to clean the Tolex, or other textured vinyls. Spray liberally, then scrub with a scrub brush, and wipe dry with a turkish towel. That procedure gets all the gunk out of the nooks and crannies. You can then treat the vinyl with a spray-shine product, like Pledge, Armor-All, or vinyl top dressing. (You can do the same with the grill cloth if you remove the speaker, and use a paint brush for scrubbing instead of a stiffer scrub-brush.) For the smell that gets into the wood on the inside, you can spray it with Febreeze and let it dry, or put the cabinet only (chassis and speaker removed) into a large plastic bag with some baking soda in a sock, or some dryer sheets, and let it sit a day or two.
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Ron Shalita


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 7:53 pm    
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Leave. Outside for about a year ...
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Bill L. Wilson


From:
Oklahoma, USA
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 9:54 pm     It Stinks.
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My Princeton Reverb had years of nicotine on it. I aired it out in the sun, pulled the chassis and cleaned it and the faceplate with Q-tips soaked in plain water. Pulled the speaker, cleaned the baffle and grill cloth with a toothbrush soaked in Windex, then wiped down with a damp cloth. All raw wood inside the cabinet and electrical cords wiped down with Windex. Amorall the Tolex after cleaning and you’re good to go. I still set my equipment outside after smokey gigs and wipe it down it really helps keep down the smell.
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Marc Jenkins


From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 10:36 pm     Re: It Stinks.
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Bill L. Wilson wrote:
My Princeton Reverb had years of nicotine on it. I aired it out in the sun, pulled the chassis and cleaned it and the faceplate with Q-tips soaked in plain water. Pulled the speaker, cleaned the baffle and grill cloth with a toothbrush soaked in Windex, then wiped down with a damp cloth. All raw wood inside the cabinet and electrical cords wiped down with Windex. Amorall the Tolex after cleaning and you’re good to go. I still set my equipment outside after smokey gigs and wipe it down it really helps keep down the smell.


There are still smoky gigs!?!?
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Murnel Babineaux


From:
Mermentau, Louisiana, USA
Post  Posted 3 Feb 2020 11:29 pm    
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I love that smell !
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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 2:55 am    
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take the amp and speakers out of the cab, put the dang thing outside in the sunlight for a day, after spraying it down with an anti-mold / mildew agent. Many times we cannot see mold but its there.

Not long ago, with an older D10 case, it took a week to get the mold/mildew SMELL to leave the planet.


Its a 48 year old amp.
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Bill L. Wilson


From:
Oklahoma, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 8:40 am     Ohhhhh! That Smell.
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There’s getting to be more non-smoking gigs than in the old, Good Old Days.
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Stephen Cowell


From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 9:36 am    
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I bought a commercial ozonator... not that expensive, and worth every penny. I used it against mold in guitars and cases... friends have borrowed it to de-smoke used cars. I last used it for a toaster fire in my kitchen... sealed it up and let it run for days.

Open the amp up and put the chassis and cabinet in a cardboard box in your garage with the machine... you don’t want to breathe any ozone, that stuff tears up your lungs. It’s amazing, basically it’s gaseous bleach.
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Greg Cutshaw


From:
Corry, PA, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 10:19 am    
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Effective and reasonably priced ozonator:

https://www.amazon.com/Enerzen-Commercial-Industrial-Deodorizer-Sterilizer/dp/B00JAP7388/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ozonator&qid=1580840019&sr=8-3&th=1

I have tried most most of the suggestions offered here and on countless other forums and they help a lot. From reviews I've seen lately, the professionals are getting great results from the ozonators which seem like a lot less work with much better results.
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Larry Dering


From:
Missouri, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 11:46 am    
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We used ozone machines in car fire restoration and it works well. I wasn't aware they were cheap enough for consumers. Nice information.
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Larry Dering


From:
Missouri, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 11:53 am     Double post
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Opps

Last edited by Larry Dering on 5 Feb 2020 7:08 am; edited 2 times in total
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Michael Butler


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 12:20 pm    
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vinegar and baking soda with a few drops of dish soap. okay for tolex and grill cloth.

test on the bottom first. then leave it outside for a couple days in the sun. if it is the cabinet too, set some baking soda in a cup inside the cabinet.

play music!
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Chris Boyd

 

From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 2:03 pm    
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Fabreeze does a good job of eliminating odors... in the pro costume world,they take straight vodka in a spray bottle and it kills bacteria and leaves no residue or smell !
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Dick Sexton


From:
Greenville, Ohio
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2020 3:15 pm     I love these stories.
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They bring back my worst nightmare.

1968, Brownsville Texas, living in a trailer with a pretty-new wife and brand new baby. Just got paid, went to the store and stocked up on chicken and the best hamburger we could afford. Two nights later a hurricane is coming right at us. Can't stay in a trailer, move to a friends brick house... Gets real scary, 4 cars head for Rio Grande City. We stay overnight, friends and 3 cars head back home the next morning early. Wife, baby and I sleep in. Rio Grande River floods between us and home. 4 or 5 days later, no electricity, walk into the trailer and open the fridge... And puke!

Land lady said clean as good as you can, get a bottle of vanilla, soak cotton balls with it and put in fridge. Smell was completely gone over night. Kept using vanilla soaked cotton balls in the fridge, even to this day.

Clean amp as best you can, amp in trash bag, vanilla in the trash bag, close up and seal the bag for a few days. If it will eliminate rotting meat, should help with the smoke. Also works in cars. Real vanilla though!
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