Where to get Loafer Pad cover material

Carl Kilmer · Post by **Carl Kilmer** » 30 Jul 2009 11:15 am

Does anyone have, or know where to buy some of that material
to recover a Loafer Pad. I don't even know what it's called.
Thanks for any help.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

John Fabian · Post by **John Fabian** » 30 Jul 2009 11:26 am

Try your local automotive upholstery shop. Select a vinyl you like and recover your pad.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 30 Jul 2009 11:47 am

Or almost any fabric/craft shop.Hobby Lobby..Michaels.

Carl Kilmer · Post by **Carl Kilmer** » 30 Jul 2009 7:07 pm

Thanks John and Bill.
There's nothing around me, but I'm going
to Terre Haute, Indiana tomorrow and I'll
look there. I know there's a Hobby Lobby
there so I'll try them, and then look some
place else if I have to.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · Post by **Michael T. Hermsmeyer** » 2 Aug 2009 10:31 pm

You can check ebay for amp tolex, The vinyl that they use on guitar amps.

Most places sell it by the yard and you can get as much as you want. There is just about any color available that you want out there.

B.Jenkins · Post by **B.Jenkins** » 3 Aug 2009 2:48 am

You can get the tooled leather look from the Flying Needle out of Texas, in Black or Brown
I bought some from them and put it on my Mullen.
Billy

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 4 Aug 2009 12:29 pm

There's a whirl of difference in real leather and that hot or cold sticky vinyl. I own a related business that among other things sells and repairs upholstery leather.
If you need it quickly and just can't find it anywhere else drop me an email with the color and measurements and I'll drop by the place and put in a good word for you and get them to ship you some.

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · Post by **Michael T. Hermsmeyer** » 4 Aug 2009 1:42 pm

Hey Bo, do they just have leather? I'm looking for some red sparkle tolex. Like they use in those retro 50,s diners or on Kustom amps.

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 5 Aug 2009 5:30 pm

Guys ,havn't you been on the forum long enough to know my wife and i do the pad covers for the SD-10 steel guitar ? They are made from Marine Vinyl that you can get at any ''JoAnn Fabric store ''. G.P.

Bobby Burns · Post by **Bobby Burns** » 5 Aug 2009 5:52 pm

Micheal T. H. Do a search for places that sell vinyl for boat seats. I once needed to cover a speaker cab to match a red sparkle Kustom head. I don't remember the name of the place, but I think I just did a search for red sparkle vinyl. I may have searched for roll and pleated vinyl, or tuck and pleated vinyl. The material I got was actually roll and pleated red sparkle vinyl and it matched the old amp pretty much exactly. It's not really tolex though. That may be why you can't find it. I don't think the Kustom and dinette material are called tolex. They are marine grade vinyl.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 5 Aug 2009 5:57 pm

The last time I looked there was a sample of that in a supply book (looks kinda like that old Kustom cover)
That stuff peels pretty bad and the top layer sometimes come loose. My suggestion is to cover it with subtle class and use black leather. It just shouts "I'm a stud". You won't find any vinyl on a Mercedes.

Bobby Burns · Post by **Bobby Burns** » 5 Aug 2009 6:04 pm

I am with Bo here. And the leather would really feel a lot better on a humid stage.

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · Post by **Michael T. Hermsmeyer** » 5 Aug 2009 9:18 pm

Thanks guys.

I have a White/Silver wood grain Thomas SD-10 that I bought last year and it has a red pad on it. I love the look and just wanted to take it up a notch with the red sparkle.

I agree that a nice piece of leather would also be classy, just didn't think I could find a color that I liked.

The pad is also too thick compared to an old LDG that I had years ago, so its a bit uncomfortable to play. Since I was going to remove the pad to thin it down, I thought it would be a good time to change the material.

I've considered selling it and getting a third D-10, but it's not a sellers market right now. It might be easier to sell with a black leather pad. What do y'all think?

Did Sho-Bud use leather? I thought it was the same stuff they used on pak-a-seats and that was definitely vinyl, or maybe naugahyde.

Sorry if I kinda took over your thread, Carl, but maybe this helped answer your questions too.

Sonny Priddy · Post by **Sonny Priddy** » 6 Aug 2009 6:07 pm

Check With Garry You Can't Go Wrong. SONNY.

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · Post by **Michael T. Hermsmeyer** » 23 Aug 2009 10:20 pm

Just ordered some black tolex from www.mojotone.com

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 24 Aug 2009 8:21 am

I may have to replace the pad on my previously-immaculate Derby SD-10! I sat a bit too near my steel while playing my Telecaster the other day, and now there's a scuff on the Derby's pad and a nick in the finish on my Tele!!!

Tamara James · Post by **Tamara James** » 24 Aug 2009 8:35 am

Bo Legg wrote: It just shouts "I'm a stud". You won't find any vinyl on a Mercedes.

gheez.

And what is the ladies supposed to use? lace?

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · Post by **Michael T. Hermsmeyer** » 2 Sep 2009 8:12 pm

All done, how did I do Gary?
Tamara, they didn't have any lace available, sorry.

They did have the red sparkle, but at the new owners request, I recovered it with black.

Before:

After:

Carl Kilmer · Post by **Carl Kilmer** » 3 Sep 2009 3:52 am

Michael, I like the red, but think the black looks better.
I went nuts trying to figure out how to do the corners.
Tommy Bradshaw told me how to make the corners turn out nice.
This it how corners looked when I did it the way he told me to.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

Matthew Keon · Post by **Matthew Keon** » 3 Sep 2009 7:03 am

Carl Kilmer wrote:Michael, I like the red, but think the black looks better.
I went nuts trying to figure out how to do the corners.
Tommy Bradshaw told me how to make the corners turn out nice.
This it how corners looked when I did it the way he told me to.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

Carl, Those corners look fantastic! I need to build a new pad for my guitar - can anyone share some tips?

Matt

Carl Kilmer · Post by **Carl Kilmer** » 3 Sep 2009 7:19 am

Hey Matthew, send Tommy Bradshaw an Email. He can tell
you how to do it. He's a Genius, and as you see it works perfect.
It takes a little more time, but looks better than the original.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

Tom Bradshaw · Post by **Tom Bradshaw** » 3 Sep 2009 8:38 am

Before I get any more private emails, I'll explain how I do it with Tolex. I don't know how this would work with other types of plastic covered fabrics, so be careful (and follow a tip I mention later on here). Obviously, my procedure worked for Carl, but he used Tolex (that I sent him). In fact, his work looks better than what I've done with those pads. Looking at his, it appears that the board used to make his pad is a littler thicker than what I've seen pads made out of. Also, I suspect that the foam used on his pad was glued to the board; something I intend to do from now on because of seeing how Carl's pad turned out.

Buy some Weldwood Contact Cement (in the smallest container he could find, simply to avoid ending up with a quart can you may never have a use for). Coat one corner of the Tolex'es fabric's underside (a couple of inches beyond the portion of the corner that you want to stretch over the board). Let the contact cement sit for about 15 minutes, while it "attacks" and softens the plastic Tolex. This will allow the corner section to be stretched. Then, pull it and staple it (an electric stapler works best). Once you finish one corner, go on to the next, following the same procedure.

The Tolex will dry out and retain its position on the padded board. Other types of plastic covered fabric may not work, but if you already have the material, simply test it by covering a couple of inches of the material and see how it stretches.

The big problem, if you don't use the contact cement, is what to do with the excess material caused by making the folds when rounding off the corners. Softening and stretching the material does away with most of that excess material.

Best of luck to everyone. Glad I may be able to help. ...Tom

P.S.: Mike's suggestion of ordering from Mojotone is a good one. I buy from them all the time.

Carl Kilmer · Post by **Carl Kilmer** » 3 Sep 2009 8:56 am

Hey Tommy, thanks for the kind words, of how mine looks.
I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help.
Thanks again,

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

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