# Fender Bandmaster Reverb help



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Hello,

I am restoring a Fender Bandmaster Reverb TFL-5005D for a buddy and was wondering if anyone with experience with old Fenders could help me out with a few questions. 

First, what was used to glue the front control panel to the chassis. Its starting to come apart.




Second, where these amps normally stapled of the botton vinyl joint? It feels like the underside of the tolex has never had glue on it which leads me to think the joint was stapled at the factory like this.






Thanks,

David Cole


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Hey,

The front panel never had glue on it. It's secured by pressure from the light socket assembly and the pots. It can be bent easily when the chassis is removed from the cab...caution is required.
I would venture a guess that someone added the staples as they're usually all glued. However, I wouldn't be totally surprised if they were from the factory....I've seen a lot of different things from Fender over the years...


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

I agree with David, NR. I've never seen factory stapling either.

I've had good results with ordinary white WeldBond from Home Depot. It dries clear as glass. You do need to clamp it or keep pressure on the faceplate somehow. I have removed faceplates and it looked like Fender and others used ordinary contact cement, like the LePage's stuff in the yellow cans. The WeldBond has the advantage of drying faster but if you have a good jig to keep the faces under pressure then who cares? Just leave it for an extra day.

I use WeldBond for the Tolex too but purists use an aerosol spray product from 3M. The name is "3M 90".

There have been some good threads on this. Here's something pertinent:

_*"The Best glue to use for tolex is Hide Glue. Not the Franklins liquid hide glue. The kind you melt in a pot with equal parts water. Just like what the factories use (at least the old USA companies). Does not lift, dries hard (your cabinet will sound better) , not soft like contact adhesives. You can use an old electric frying pan to melt it. Cleans up with water. You can get it from Stewmac or even ebay. for touch ups I use titebond carpenters glue or elmers wood glue. 
Sam Hutton told me to use Hide Glue, he used to work at Fender in the 60's and that is what they used. Sam was one of the first guys to do authentic restorations of vintage Fender"*_

Here's a link to the whole thread:

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t13499/

Have fun!

Wild Bill/Busen Amps


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Like nonreverb stated, the bulb holder should be securing the faceplate to the front panel. In your pic you can see there is a flange where the bulb holder meets the chassis. It looks like the flange is on the wrong side of the faceplate, as if the bulb holder was installed before the faceplate went on. It should be installed after the faceplate, so it holds the faceplate down, like the pic attached.
Unless someone has enlarged the hole in the faceplate, in which case you will need to find a washer to do the job.
For small rips in tolex etc. I like to use contact cement. You have to make sure you get it on both surfaces and let it get tacky, then you have to get it to fit right the first time, as once it's down you can't adjust it. Because of this I only use it for small repairs.
And to get into tricky areas I use a syringe with a large needle. It's great for gluing down carpet type coverings that aren't torn, just loose. So the needle allows you to get glue in without having to remove any of the covering. I found some water based contact cement (in a tube like caulking) that was thin enough to work in the syringe/needle.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Thanks for the help guys. I'll check the bulb holder out and use some WeldBond if required. 

For the tolex, I have been using this:http://www.rona.ca/en/adhesive---floor-adhesive-2000091--1. It works well and is easy to work with. I just water it down a smidgen to make it easy to work with a paint brush and it works awesome.


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## J-75 (Jul 29, 2010)

I've used that exact same Rona adhesive product on tolex and found it easy to work with as well.
The traditional contact cement has generally undergone a revision in formulation, and the 'new' type(s) are not as good as the old 'yellow can' variety, so I'm using the Rona flooring adhesive.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Thanks for the confirmation that someone else uses this product. Its hard around here to learn all the tips and tricks, meaning the city I live in because there is no one around to learn from. I have an Electronics Technology diploma and have been doing repairs for 5 years now so I can pretty much figure this stuff out now, but its nice knowing that there is a great resource in Guitars Canada to check with and ask questions.


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