How to Clean The Grill Cloth of a Guitar Amplifier

I had an old Marshal JCM2000 2×12 lying around that needed some repairs. The amp had received a fair amount of use, and somehow I had managed to get some stains on the front of the amp’s black grill cloth. When taking it to my favorite amp technician to get the repairs done, I asked if he could replace the grill cloth, because to me the stains ruined the look of the amp. I was disappointed to hear that it would be difficult to get another grill cloth due to various factors, unless I was willing to find one myself.

A few days later when I collected the amp I was stunned to see what I thought was a new JCM2000 standing before me. Somehow he had managed to get the grill cloth perfectly clean, something I failed to do myself after intense scrubbing with soap and water. Naturally I was eager to find out how he had accomplished this feat. I was a little surprised to hear that solution was in fact black shoe polish, which covers up the stains very well. In my personal opinion, it also added a glow and shine to the grill cloth that made it look even better.

Here are some tips for cleaning your amps grill cloth / tolex:

• Use shoe polish that matches the color of your grill cloth. Using this method means that you don’t have to remove your grill cloth. Dab a small amount of shoe polish on the tip of a sponge and apply to any inconspicuous areas.
• You can achieve some great results on Fender grill cloths by picking up some Spot Shot or Simple Green from your local supermarket. First, remove the grill cloth. Spray the product directly onto inconspicuous areas and then use a cloth to wipe the grill clean. Avoid using any type of brush.
• Soak a detached grill cloth in hot water and dish washing liquid for a few hours. It may be difficult to remove bad stains by using this method, however it will work very well for removing dirt.
• Avoid cleaning extremely old vintage amplifiers. Sometimes good intentions can end up making things worse.

I’ve heard about other cleaning methods like blasting the grill clean with an air compressor or water pressure. Personally I’ve never tried this as it seems a little overboard. I would stick with the methods outlined above, or take the amp to a professional amp technician to have it cleaned for you.

Do you have any cleaning methods you’ve used with success? Let us know in the comments below.