Tweed Guitar

How do you cover a guitar amp with tweed?

This can be kinda tough, so I'd practice with some cheap speakers from Goodwill or a garage sale first. Upholstery is an art.

Buy some tweed upholstery (see the link below for a few examples), preferably with a vinyl or solid backing of some sort. Clean the surface of the cabinet, removing all of the hardware and grill (and amplifier section if it slides out). You may want to strip the cabinet to bare wood, but if it has a painted or vinyl surface already, you should be okay as long as it's smooth.

Lay the fabric across the cabinet, cutting slits for the folds in the corners. It may also help to cut separate pieces to make it a multi-piece job. You're probably best off leaving the center intact and then cutting it to shape and size with a utility knife after you've applied it.

Once you have everything prepped, break out some contact cement. You can usually buy this in 1 quart to 1 gallon sizes in most hardware stores in either the flooring or laminate departments. Lay the upholstery with the fabric side down (it may help to pin the outsides, then apply contact cement evenly to the side left up. Then apply a coat to the cabinet (including inside as you let the fabric dry. Go back and apply another coat to each, again letting them dry completely. You may want to do one more coat on the fabric, but that's up to you.

Once the cement is tacky (usually about 20-30 minutes after, but no more than 2 hours), you can apply the fabric. It's usually easier to leave the fabric pinned down and lower the cabinet down on top of it. You only get one shot at it and won't be able to reposition anything once it's attached, so be VERY careful in this step. One you attach the first part, remove the pins and then carefully pull the fabric up and around the corners. With some cabinets it may be easier to leave the pins in place and to roll the cabinet onto the fabric. Once you get that wrapped around, you may need to apply more cement to pieces where the tweed overlaps outside tweed. Smooth out and go over all of the fabric firmly. It may help to use a roller of some sort to help with this. Push the fabric in all of internal corners and cut any excess off.

Once you're done, reattach any hardware, reattach the grill, etc. and enjoy! Good luck!