Restoring An Old Drum Set - Part 3: DIY Clear Coat Finish

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

What do you think about the wipe on polyurethane for the clear coat... What would you have used?

[@iRideuWatch]

Why did u choose this instead of lacquer?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@iRideuWatch I heard Lacquer was harder to work with... but I have no experience to justify that. You have any experience with lacquer?... What do you think?

[@footnotedrummer]

@@Thedrummersalmanac ... I actually just bought some shells from Nordic, and I plan on using a spray on instrument lacquer for the finish. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the videos BTW.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

footnotedrummer ...nice! Definitely let me know how it comes out.

[@EarthtonesCymbals]

Famowood glaze coat for me. Work smarter, not harder.

[@jna3341]

Really popping!

[@lamarjohnson1981]

My man. Thanks for getting this uploaded.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

No worries.. Hope you dug it!

[@lamarjohnson1981]

thedrummersalmanac - You sanded between each poly coat?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@lamarjohnson1981 Very lightly... I read that it's not always necessary, but I found in addition to starting the next coat with zero bubbles or blemishes, the lightly sanded surface gives the next coat something to adhere to.

[@matthijsbeute8258]

@@Thedrummersalmanac can i use leather dye for (painting) my drums? And if so do you have to sand it few times? I dont know anything about painting and sanding i Saw somebody use red and dark Brown and yellow angelus leather dye and IT looked amazing

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@matthijsbeute8258 I have no experience with painting the drums... I don't wanna give you bad advice and would have to research it myself. At a quick glance, this video might help you with that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJzVdatoaKaFicU

[@delvaindelrind]

great work! Me and my friend got a Mohagany, Poplar, Mohagany Slingerland from the 60's. I think your DIY series is a perfect guide for our attempt on restoring our kit. Thank you!

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

That sounds beautiful James... please send me some pics when you get it done!

[@mostazo]

Your Lazy Susan system was bad ass too, my neighbor gave me a cheap SPL drum set, white, I learn how to play just basic stuff a long time ago and I have not even put the set together yet, after I watched your videos I'm going to try to do the same, your drum set looks awesome, maybe I'm going to go back to learn a little bid more. Thanks for the inspiration man!

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Absolutely... glad I can help... and good luck on your build!

[@jasonstatement3553]

This was very well done, thank you!

[@markdemell3717]

I like it a lot.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thank Mark

[@caseydoremus5324]

That you for making this. I have restored a few drums and always used a laquer finish... and it never turned out well. I think I'm going to try the polyurethane next time

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I was too afraid to try real lacquer right out of the gate.lol Respect! I am very happy with the poly... The drums still look great over a year later... You can see them really well in my newest vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipaUn6uEgKZ3qJI

[@jdion79]

christ i wish i had the patience to do this. looks great

[@aussiefarmer8741]

Just finished watching again. I would use TRU-OIL wipe on gunstock finish. Its cheap easy to use and 1 small bottle would have done the kit. Gives a great finish. There have been several recomendations of products but some are not Available here in Australia. Good job.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I looked into doing an oil finish... Love the look. I was afraid that it offered very little protection from dings though.

[@kyleadamsdrums]

definitely, the best DIY stain job I've found on here! is the 6 coats necessary? like, what if you only did 1 or 2? is that big of a difference?

[@juancarlosdelasotta6375]

Hi Jay🙂, the shell is all sand and clean ,,I want the natural color ,so I have jus to apply the wipe on poly only ,6 coat and send and clean after every coat, the last one (6) I don't do nothing to that one ? thanks

[@marscounty]

Great series of videos! Much appreciated. How did you build the rollers to apply the stain?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thank you, my friend... I did a whole video on that too, check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apq3qZiXbtV1nrs

[@theonecalledvino8165]

That's cool, but I wanna know how you built that Roller stand

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@theonecalledvino8165 kzbin.info/www/bejne/apq3qZiXbtV1nrssi=KcZ0cjopSxHfUtJi

[@jessejamesentertainment8630]

Dude this is amazing. I wish I saw this weeks ago. But I'll tell you what's up on my project. I sanded the shine off the original shells, then primed them. Then painted them, then clear coat enamel. While wet, added some glitter, just enough to add some randomized sparkle in the light. Then clear enamel again, and another level of random glitter since I wasnt happy with the first. Well fast forward to me being frustrated with making several trips to the store of another can of the enamel, I swapped out to some gloss polyurethane. Much better and much thicker. I'm nearing the end of where the highest build ups of glitter were and I dont want any brush strokes. I havent sanded between any layers, but I do have some sanding shit and the 0000 steel wool. Before I finish the last layer, should I go ahead and steel wool now, and buy some of the stuff you used for this final layer?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

You certainly could if you have any imperfections. It gonna full up your finish… but those maguires compounds really shine it up if you take the time.

[@juancarlosdelasotta6375]

I am start to restore a dw collectors series ,it has a white pearl wrap with cracks so I remove the wrap and I like to leave the drums with the natural maple finish , I cant find your tutorial 1 and 2 . Tha awesome vide#3 ans awesome drummin lesson too ❤ .thank

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Awesome!!! Those links are in the video description... I also have a playlist on my channel dedicated to this project. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYa4epVoodyqqrM ...Let me know how it comes out... right now I am doing a butcher block countertop for our laundry room... Should be easier to finish then the drums were. lol Good luck!

[@juancarlosdelasotta6375]

@@Thedrummersalmanac Thanks so much and I subscribe your channel to check your drumming video too, thank for reply .

[@beddingfield63]

Great tutorial! How many coats did you end up doing?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I think I ended up doing about 10... that was with a couple of mistakes where I sanded and restarted.

[@HeinekenPete]

I wonder how an easy sand blasting would work at roughing up the surface?? Seems it would be way faster & more complete. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 2:09

[@Sniper1million]

Did you apply wood conditioner to shells prior to applying stain ?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I did not. This was the second time I stained the drums. The first time was around 2003 when I first bought the drums. I removed the wrap and lightly sanded them to remove all the glue residue from the wrap. Then I just left them like that. This time I decided to go all in and refinish them properly. The biggest mistake was not sanding and filling in all the road damage.

[@charlietroy212]

How much stain did you use for this project? Pint, quart, or a gallon?

[@nanachnanach7643]

Will it melt in the sun???

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I don't think so, although I would try not to put any finish in direct sunlight for extended periods. It will discolor the finish... and if it's hot... it with definitely warp the shell.

[@nanachnanach7643]

@@Thedrummersalmanac thank bud

[@tommaffucci1283]

How did you originally remove the badges without damaging them? I see its a maple kit, were the badges attached with tack nails? If so how did you remove them? I appreciate the help.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Check out this video at 9:27 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZTcg3eBbsSbqtE ...the badges were originally tacked on with little nails. I carefully pulled them out with a flat head screwdriver and some needle nose pliers. I drilled tiny holes where the nail heads were and bought these tiny pan head nut/bolts from Etsy to replace them.

[@tommaffucci1283]

@@Thedrummersalmanac That's fantastic!...Your kit came out beautiful and i love the idea of the screws for the badges. Thanks again

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@tommaffucci1283 thanks man... yeah, I felt like they were more secure.

[@joerobinson2545]

Would a clear lacquer work? I dont have any experience with poly so.....

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I don't have experience with Lacquer but I know that's the more common thing... So I don't see why not.

[@eliashdez]

how do you paint drum hoops? I restored ones but paint is chipping easily. I did a 120 grit sand on it.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I wouldn’t paint any top hoops that you’re gonna hit. I would buy them in the color you want… or powder coat them. Bottom hoops you could paint. I used rustoleum… but a few people suggested paint that you would use on car rims. It’s supposed to be Very durable.

[@eliashdez]

@@Thedrummersalmanac Thing is, Is an old drum, that I am restoring, would like to preserve their original hardware. The other thing is that hoops were very rusted to the point they lost their uniform shape and their look horrible in their natural chrome color haha. I was thinking putting a coat of bondo to see if that sticks.

[@eliashdez]

Btw, do you have a tutorial for that turning table you have? need one :D

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@eliashdez anything you hit is gonna chip. Powder coating might be your best option is you wanna use the original hardware.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@eliashdez …if was gonna do it again, I might do it a little differently.. but here’s what I did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apq3qZiXbtV1nrssi=t4mb56lThhzEkwEd

[@charlietroy212]

What is the color of the stain that you used?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I think it was Minwax dark walnut

[@markdemell3717]

Polly slapped me in the face when i tried to mix her. Dang.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

lol

[@fletchlivesdaily348]

where did you get the nickel hoops. I have a 1983 pearl export...

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I got them here: drumsonsale.com/23-mm-triple-flanged-drum-hoops-black-nickel.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwp-X0BRAFEiwAheRui8HfnOPVI_mZRuUci98J6qHZBmTpmar7kkAajSgns4dTyFXP1PHu1hoCuX4QAvD_BwE

[@jacobmartinez229]

Hi again I just bought the poly but it's an oil based an the stain I put on the kit is an oil based . but my question is the mineral spirits

[@silent_bob_]

The black hardware is horrible quite frankly.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

well, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one... even if yours stinks. lol