How to Restore Guitar Speaker Cabinets

Guitar speaker cabinets get tossed around and abused and often need to be restored for aesthetics and sound quality.

Restoring your guitar speaker cabinets can prevent you from having to buy new ones as you can replace most of the superficial parts including the grille, covering and hardware. With a few items and a bit of patience, you can take your old guitar speaker cabinet and restore it back to its original look. Many older cabinets have wear that is unsightly, so by taking the time to restore them, you can not only improve the look but also the sound of the cabinet as old hardware may rattle, causing unwanted noise while recording.

Things You'll Need

• Vinyl covering
• Spray adhesive
• Guitar cabinet hardware
• Speaker grille

Instructions

1. Remove any of the vinyl covering that is damaged or peeling off. Try to remove it in as large a piece as possible. This will allow you to use the old vinyl covering to cut a new piece. Use a hairdryer or heat gun if the glue is still sticking. This will soften the glue and make it easier to remove the covering.

2. Sand down the cabinet after you have removed the old covering. Make sure to hit all the glue spots to remove as much as you can. This would be a good time to use wood putty on any large holes that you may see, to create a better surface to apply the new glue to hold the new vinyl covering for your guitar speaker cabinet.

3. Cut a new piece of vinyl covering, which comes in a multitude of colors, and glue it onto the raw wood. This can be done using contact cement or spray adhesive, both of which can be purchased at hardware stores. As you place the covering, smooth it out with your hand to prevent any air bubbles. These air bubbles will eventually rip, so the more contact you have between the vinyl covering and the wood, the better.

4. Replace the old hardware on the cabinet. Remove the old hardware and replace with new hardware of the same type. Refer to the manufacturer's website for information on where to purchase new hardware. Handles can be unscrewed and new ones can be screwed into place in a matter of minutes.

5. Replace the speaker grille with a new one or a customized replacement with your band's name or logo. You can purchase new grilles at online guitar specialty stores or through the manufacturer. If it is not cost-effective to buy a new guitar speaker cabinet, replacing the grille can go a long way in restoring the cabinet to as-new condition.

References

• The Boogie Files: Amp and Cabinet Restoration Tips and Issues