Magnavox grill cloth (Cleaning)

[Hydrolastic]

As i have several Magnavox consoles and i take them apart for recapping and repair it is a easy time to get the panels out that has the grill cloth on it. Which in most of the magnavox's is a stiff burlap almost seems plasticized in some way. What i want to do is wash it but also avoid watermarks. what is your method for cleaning? Mine vary from dust and dirt to nicotine tinted. Hydro

[electra225]

I moved this topic from Getting Started.

There isn't much you can do for nicotine stains. That stuff is greasy and nasty. There used to be a member on this forum who got onto me all the time about dirty grill cloth. We got into it enough that at least I got a PM from the site administrator. I digress...

I take the speaker grills out and hand them to my wife. She sprays her magic ingredients on them then hands them back to me. She uses a weak mixture of dish washing soap and water. She puts that in a spray bottle, then puts some on a cloth. Wipe the grill cloth gently to remove as much dirt as you can. The grill cloth was so bad in my Stereo Theater I had to replace it with black cloth. Whatever you use, go easy. That grill cloth is pretty tough, but you don't want to kill it.

[hermitcrab]

trouble I have is the glue fails and the cloth starts to sag ... I removed all 4 grilles on mine the 2 on the end and the 2 on front and reglued the cloth back on.... it was a pain, but the look is worth it.

[William]

I need to replace the grille cloth on my little Stromberg-Carlson console. It is kind of an end table thing with grille cloth on both sides. The cabinet is nothing to write home about, but like everything SC it has a big amp.

Bill

[electra225]

We used some stuff in the classic car business "Tuff Stuff". I don't know if you can still buy it. It comes in a yellow spray can. That stuff is really good for getting greasy, oily, smoke residue off car upholstery. It worked especially well on headliners. Test it on the back or an inconspicuous area, then spray it on a rag and wipe the grill cloth. Lay the cloth flat on a counter top or other hard surface and just rub it in a straight line in a way so as to not unwind the grill cloth. Worth a try if you can find some.

[Hydrolastic]

Hello, In the next week or so i will be picking up the amp and tuner for the Continental. I plan on installing the equipment except for cleaning i won't be doing much to the cabinet as it really needs to be redone. This is the cabinet that has a nicotine smell. Plan now is to get the cabinet empty and then wipe the surfaces with a damp rag. The surface that can get wet i will use something like 409 to get the surface clean. The grill cloth will need a good soaking i feel and it may be possible to vacuum the extra soapy water off. Then follow with plain water and rinse the same way. Will document what is done to see what works.

[electra225]

The cabinet on my Stereo Theater was cloaked in nicotine. When I had the cabinet gutted, I put a good, heavy coat of shellac on the inside of the cabinet, then followed that with a coat of flat polyurethane. Not only does that make the cabinet look more finished on the inside, it sealed the nicotine smell so I don't notice it. The Imperial cabinet may be partially finished on the inside. Shellac won't affect any finish already there, and is sometimes preferable to wetting the cabinet with cleaner. Good luck.

[Hydrolastic]

Hello, looking at this cloth i realized that it was originally black so i think i am going to spray paint it. Sealing in the nicotine. Since now i am cleaning the rest of the cabinet it's just soaked in it. Also it may be a vinyl dye i like that stuff. The metal grill allowed the sun to bleach the cloth white but like the factory originally did the black will make the gold stand out more. Hydro

[electra225]

If you find your plan doesn't work out like you'd like, may I suggest going to the Parts Express website, then looking at their black grill cloth. They make two grades. I recommend the better, more expensive of the two. I used that on my Stereo Theater and am well-pleased. It is really black, works easily and lays nice and flat. Just in the way of a suggestion.....

A link:

https://www.parts-express.com/Mellotone ... de-260-332

Good luck!

[19&41]

Just saw this thread. I have washed several grille cloths and had good luck doing it. What I did was unmount the cloth and I went to the hobby store and got some of the polyethylene sheets that had a screen pattern, that people use to make patterns using yarn passed through the holes and tied off. I sandwich the cloth between sheets andrun thread through the sheets and some at the edge of the cloth so it stays in place, and i put it in the washer for cold water wash. I let it dey in the sheeting and then iron and size it. Sizing is important for a symmetrical good look.

Here's the screen I'm talking about.
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Yarn-Needle- ... /p/PC20400