Cleaning stain from amp grill

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:00 am

So, today I hit up a few local pawn shops, and came home with a bedroom amp, a Marshall VS30R ($30!!)

It works fine and sounds pretty decent, but it could use some TLC (cleanup, replacing of all the screws that are rusted, and 2 knobs). Anyway, there's a huge stain on the grille... any suggestions on how to tackle it? Here's a pic:

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 2:19 am

I'm in the same position... and mines for sale.

I reckon numerous wipes with a non scratch scourer and minimal fairy liquid would do the job.... or maybe upgrading to turps or lighter fluid if really bad.

If you can hold tissue or kitchen roll behind the mesh I'm sure that would be a bonus.

That stain almost looks like a clean bit where the rest needs a basic dust / wipe over.

Have you tried anything yet ?

* Pour beer on it ??? I've drank all mine.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 2:29 am

The only beer I spill goes down my throat

Honestly, I don't have a clue what was spilled on it. It had a Dec 2009 tag at the pawn shop when I bought it, and there's no discernable smell on the stain (yes, i smelled it). So it's been there a while, and it might have happened at the pawn shop some time over the past 2 years.

The other thing I thought about was going over the whole grille lightly with black shoe polish, like this

Dannymec · Post by **Dannymec** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:09 am

I'd recommend removing the grill, and letting it soak in warm soapy water. Then rub it with a rag for awhile.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:59 pm

This doesnt help but years ago all i could afford was an old Carlsbro valve combo that was going cheap because someone had painted a smiley 'acid house' face on it. I just sprayed the grill with black paint. Looked fine, not an ideal solution though i know.
These days you can buy speaker cloth/grill easily on the interwebs.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:53 pm

Dannymec wrote:I'd recommend removing the grill, and letting it soak in warm soapy water. Then rub it with a rag for awhile.

It didn't work

That stain is in there.

I think I'm gonna hit it with a quick coat of black spray paint and just paint over the stain.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:37 am

Disolve 1/4 cup of baking soda into 3 cups of boiling water, dunk and go at it with a toothbrush.
If the stain looks greasy, add a couple drops of dishwashing soap into the mix.

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:41 am

Let us know how the cleaning goes, i'm very curious about this.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:49 pm

go to the store and get some rad fabric son

do an robroe

AaronGuitarDude · Post by **AaronGuitarDude** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:52 pm

soak it with oil and burn it.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:30 pm

robroe wrote:go to the store and get some rad fabric son

do an robroe

Fuck yeah. I'm feeling inspired.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:32 pm

JJLipton wrote:Let us know how the cleaning goes, i'm very curious about this.

Nothing killed the stain, so I sprayed it with black acrylic and it looks good now. I'll post pics once it dries.

However, robroe inspired me, so I'm gonna go to the fabric store tonight.

roachello · Post by **roachello** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:52 pm

robroe wrote:go to the store and get some rad fabric son

do an robroe

Hell yeah

It looks like a grease stain. If it is some sort of oil-based stain, then I would just opt to replace it. You can also get artsy and paint something on the grill too, but yeah, I really like the Robroe method. It puts some individuality into ur gear

It even works awesome as a bass drum skin

Post by **Doog** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:50 pm

roachello wrote: It even works awesome as a bass drum skin

Haaaaha I did this on my first drumkit with some nice plaid material, poking out from the sides of the hoop. The covers band I played for always used to take the piss and said I was playing a jamjar though D:

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:07 pm

ugh... so the particle board soaked up a bit too much of the paint, and it wouldn't fit. I tried tapping it into place by hand and ended up breaking it. Particle board + caribbean climate = not a good mix

So I mounted the speaker backwards to hold it in place, since I travel tomorrow, and I'll fix it on the road. I know of a good lumberyard close to where I'll be. I'll also look at fabric samples. Or if I can find a blanket at a thrift store with a ninja turtles print, we're in business.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:36 pm

Another update... no pics yet, because I had to leave the amp behind due to lack of space in my car.

I've decided to make a new cabinet for it completely out of plywood, leave it natural, getting some rad light-colored fabric, spraying the Marshall Logo black, and putting it back together.