Restoring An Old Drum Set - Part 4: DIY Rubbing Out Drum Shells

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Poly, lacquer or wrap... Which do you prefer?

[@isihernandez9752]

Definitley lacquer. Poly is fine but lacquer adds some degree of protection. Wrap adds more protection but I absolutley hate it... 🤷🏻‍♂️ This 4 videos are very helpful and I appreciate you take the effort to make them. I'm planning a restoration of an used snarw drum I recently bought and that has been really mistreated and abused, but it's a great snare (Mapex Black Panther) and the price was a gift. So this will be very helpful. Of course, I'll also ask for advice to friend of mine, who is a luthier, but I want to do it by myself and this will help.

[@richardkersey4960]

My first project which was mostly done by a friend who is a master carpenter, the kit shells had 7 layers of lacquer with 5 layers of poly. over top. The snare drum (African Black Mohagony) was 10 layers of Poly. I know that lacquer can break down over time from sweat so Poly was the best choice for protection from that and dings. At the time, everywhere I researched Lacquer was used either by itself or in conjunction with Poly. I realized much later that the Poly was all I really needed.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@richardkersey4960 I'm pretty happy with the poly myself... Check out one of my newer vids to see how the drums look and sound a year later :-) Definitely held up well

[@markdemell3717]

Does wood filler accept the urethane like the wood?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@markdemell3717 I would get an oil or poly based wood filler. You can get latex or water based, but I am not sure if you would have a problem.

[@herbertfitch9189]

Great job, I'm doing a WFL and I put a epoxy glaze coat on it. This was very helpful. The product I used is supposed to be poured but applying to a drum shell I had to use a brush, therefore I have some small bubbles and need to rub it out. Thank you!!!

[@mongoosemotive]

I took my tama rockstar and removed the vinyl wrap and lacquered the shells some of the wood was ripped but it adds some character, the drums sound way better

[@danielreily2701]

I really like what you have achieved ,the kit looks great. In my past experiences restoring old kits one thing that really improved the bass drum tone to a surprising degree is replacing metal hoops with wood hoops . You have one wood and one metal so can I suggest replacing that metal one with wood. Not only will it look better but it will improve the drum's sound noticeably . The Keller shells really lend themselves to taking them back to the wood. I have a '63 Premier kit , 3 ply with reinforcement hoops. I am 65 years of age and did a similar snare when I was 12 ! It had an other ply that really was cheap open grain which did not look too good ,so either a new wrap or live with the Ringo brown with gold finish which is consistent with the retro look now popular. Oh the guy who gave me the set took it to South Pole , so the chrome is really pitted ! Sorry about the sermon on the mount ! Cheers from Australia.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Daniel Reily thanks Daniel. I agree, a wood hoop on the front wood probably look and sound better. I’ll have to try that! You can always refinish that chrome. I originally was going to powder coat, but opted to use spray paint on all the chrome hardware. This is now my studio kit, so it doesn’t need to be road worthy. I figured paint was a good cheaper option.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I have a student down in those parts! Where are ya from?

[@danielreily2701]

@@Thedrummersalmanac Hi, sorry about the delay in replying. I am from Melbourne Australia but lived in Texas for 19 years which totally restored my love of music and drumming ( even singing !). Austin Texas is a fantastic place in so many ways . I saw an old guy play at a bar in Harker Heights the place was "Cutters" who was Stevie Ray Vaughan's road manager. I asked the guy "Where did those shuffles come from ?". He said sit down and chat, we had a great chat. I later learned he was Uncle John Turner ..Janis Joplin's drummer, Johnny and Edgar Winter's drummer etc . etc. Another time Buddy Miles played there but I was "Not Worthy !" to talk to him ,I regret that. That man had evil single stroke rolls ! Great players can be very humble if you get a chance to meet.

[@johndiraimo1444]

Great job Jay. The drums looks great. I've only done some minor restorations for scrapes and scratches on wooden snare drums. I only had to fill in the scratches and match the existing colour shade. I have never done a full drum set ... let alone taking it down to the original foundation as you did. I love the darkened hardware ... great idea. I love the new finish ... I'm not a fan of the wrap.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thanks, John... Wraps are good on touring kits... More durable... This restored kit looks nice but it's definitely not durable. I intend to just keep it in my studio... so it shouldn't be subject to much wear. I should have leveled the shells. That caused me lots of problems. Yeah... the dark hardware came out better then I thought it would... considering I just used Rustoleum. lol

[@rickcroucier4841]

Fantastic job and the video was very detailed. I came across an old Yamaha drum set the my daughters school wanted to get rid of. It’s seen better days and I’m considering doing what you did. We shall see! Thank you! ☮️🤘

[@davidsuprenant893]

You did a beautiful job sir.Your kit looks fantastic.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Glad you like it! Thanks Dave!

[@BeanieOakley]

These videos inspired me... I have some shells 1983 DX (Birch) series covered white gloss... I got them from Pearl on an endorsement program while playing in a country group in 1983 that charted two singles on Billboard. Part of the kit which was a 9 piece kit was stolen but I still have 4pcs. in storage... Been thinking about what to do with them... Those drums look dynamite....Thanks for sharing!!

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Beanie Oakley awesome! I’d love to see the finished product. Let me know when you get them finished.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

There are a bunch of ways to do this. I opted to used these Meguiars polishing compounds to rub out these drum shells... Has anyone had any success with other polishing methods?... Let me know in the comments!

[@dextay87]

I did my last coat super thin with a roll brush but I can't get the tiny bubbles out without scratching the finish with the 400grit. Will this polishing method smooth out the tiny scratches? Or should I leave the tiny bubbles and let the polishing method you used in this video take care of the bubbles?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Dexter Taylor You really want the shell to be in the best shape it can be after the last coat. The polishing is not sanding... so I’m not sure how well it will remove those bubbles once the finish cures. What I did was... I took a shop rag and folded it into a tight square. I wet it a little with mineral spirits. Then I spun the drum on the rollers and lightly rested the edge of the square on the shell as I spun it... zero pressure. One smooth pass and I was able to get rid of the bubbles. There were some very fine blemishes and dust particles... but you had to look real close with a light to see them. The polishing removed all of that and left the shell flawless.

[@dextay87]

@@Thedrummersalmanac ok thank you

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Dexter Taylor ...hey Dexter, how’d they come out?

[@juliannewoodrow6216]

Excellent job that was, that's what I'm doing to mine drums, but awesome you did on those pearls

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thank, Julianne... I'd love to see how your drums come out. Let me know! My Pearls came out better than I hoped...they do look and sound great in the new studio... check them out in my newest video if you get a sec: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYnImIWhj6uGd6M

[@jimhayes3225]

Those look great

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thank you... The toms need new bearing edges recut

[@bertbanks53]

Awesome job!

[@jeremybalzarini279]

awesome video, thanks for sharing!

[@fletchlivesdaily348]

Looks awesome...

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Thank you, sir... I am pretty happy with the look and the sound. They actually sound better after I refinished them. Someone suggested it was because I added mass to the shells. idk though...

[@jcdrums2798]

awesome job! congrats man !

[@juliannewoodrow6216]

Very informative, very good, I love what you did and what I sence, makes perfect sense

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Awesome... I'm glad you dug it.

[@jacobmartinez229]

Dude you are so amazing am leaning so much on how to bring old kits back to life an for cheap cost

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

You should take up the challenge. A lot of work, but worth it in the end!

[@jamesledzepplin7839]

hi from canada! im attempting a similar project. old late 60"s ludwigs. i used a wood filler compound to fill in the gaps, and it didnt work too well. the filler and the original shell did not tske the stain exactly the same, and the difference is quite obvious. anyone attempting to strip a wrap off an older ludwig kit, i would only recommend doing it if you were planning to rewrap them.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

james Ledzepplin ... it all depends on the wood. My shells are maple. If the wood doesn’t have a heavy grain then I would imagine the filler would be pretty noticeable... also I saw someone online use a trick where they mixed some sawdust from sanding, in with the filler to better match the wood once it cured. I’ve never tried that though.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

james Ledzepplin ...id love to see your finished product though!

[@jamesledzepplin7839]

id send you a picture if i knew how lol. not too savvy with the technology. i did use some wood dust from sanding the drums in the filler, but its fairly obvious. you can also see clearly where the plies were overlapped, and some filler was used to even it out in the factory.

[@jamesledzepplin7839]

one thing i did differently, was i went pretty heavy on the first frw coats, then used a rotary sander with fine sand paper to even ut out. a few very thin coats to finish it off seemed to work well

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

@@jamesledzepplin7839 You can DM me on Facebook or instagram @thedrummersalmanac... I would love to see some pics!

[@NathanBake]

Wood filler would have ruined it, since it never stains to match. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb. It looks great the way it is! Has your paint chipped off the tuning lugs or is it holding up?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Good to know... So far so good. I am pretty gentle with them though.

[@richardkersey4960]

I loved this, the presentation is on a level that I can understand. From what I've seen so far tools, resources and personal preference dictate how you can reach the same goal. I'm poor and inexperienced so this was great. I did run across one aspect that I know something about. When polishing/buffing a slower rotation both decreases the heat build-up and mess. I do try to keep my cymbals clean. LOL. I'm redoing my old Masters Custom snare drum. Going for a darker redder tone stain( Deep Burgundy). I was thinking about applying a candy clear coat (Cherry?) Do you think this would do the job or, would it be an unnecessary step?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I am sure that would look great if you get it nice and even. I'd love to see it when it's done.

[@flamangomelon6823]

How long did it take you to in total restore the whole set? I was thinking of refurbishing my whole set and your videos will help a TON. And also, what does rubbing out the shells do?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I didn’t finish them in one block… I was home during the weekdays days watching my two 2-year-old twins. So it probably took me the whole summer working on the weekends. But if I was able to work on them every day, I would estimate two to three weeks from start to finish. Rubbing out the drums is basically the final polish that gets rid of any imperfections. You could skip this step is you are not going for a perfect showroom finish, but my thoughts were… If I was gonna take all the time to finish the drums… why not do it right. I'd love to see the drums when they are done. Send me a DM when you get it finished.

[@rickcroucier4841]

Question: did you have to do anything to the bearing edges when you were done to make sure they didn’t have anything on them for the heads?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

I did do anything to the bearing edges… but those drums definitely need new edges cut.

[@danielreily2701]

Thanks for the reply.I have a question . How does that kit compare sound wise to your GMS kit ? ( I love them !). Pearl drums really have helped improve the quality of affordable drums (and higher end of the scale) from great engineering on the hardware and development of new materials .As far as refinishing the chrome on my '63 Premier ,apart from the high cost, the pitted chrome tells a story ,a band (Jazz) at the South Pole !

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Daniel Reily they honestly sound great... even better with the new finish. It drastically changed the sound adding all that Polly to the wood. They sound and feel different than the GMS... but different is not worse or better. I have fallen in love with them all over again. It’s become my favorite kit to play, which is weird for a throw-away kit that I’ve owned since 2003.

[@midknightworkshop4704]

Did you provide the names of the stain colors? I reviewed but still missed it. Thx. I really like the look you created. I have an 80's Pearl MLX with the log lugs. The lugs have horrible bubbling. I am going to try sanding and painting the lugs. I have a wrap on them but am really impressed with this color.

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

in the first video, I talk about the staining process, It's just Minwax dark walnut.

[@MikeBerbano]

Consider upgrading the orig h/w lugs , maybe tube lugs or.. www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6_9_10

[@bradwofford3387]

I've got an 82 pearl export (1st year exports)7 piece double bass all original my question behind the sentence is .....as I embark upoon restoringing the kit I'm wondering if finishing the inside of the shells with spar urethane or some type light sealer will alter sound ? ?

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

The more mass you add to the shell, the more it will resonate… or so I have heard. How much depends on how much you add. Curious to see how they turn out.

[@bradwofford3387]

@@Thedrummersalmanac thanx I can see where that s plausible considering how shell resonance is what I'm trying to achieve .going for complete restoration but it's my only kit so it will be used as intended..just wondering if I should go back with Ferrari red wrap for originality or go with something different.......

[@neddistanz]

i'm at this phase with the drums i'm redoing - do i really need to go with all 5 steps here? i applaud you and the work you've done with yours but i'm a guitar player and i just want them to be done already - i'm converting them to an electronic kit for a studio set up in my shop - thanks

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

The real question is... how perfect do you want them to look? Polishing them this way will give you a perfect finish. If you’re happy with them being a little more raw, then you don’t have to go as nuts as I went... my goal was not to have to spend $3000 on a brand new kit. So for me the extra elbow grease was worth it. But, if you can live with the imperfections you can certainly skip polishing. However, if you do polish... I wouldn’t recommend skipping any of these steps, especially if you’ve already done so much work with apply many layers of clear coat. You don’t want to skimp on the job right at the end of the project ending up with shitty looking drums. At least, I didn’t...

[@neddistanz]

@@Thedrummersalmanac thanks for the reply - yeah i've got a lot of work into them already so i might as well finish them off right - what is the polish you used? i'm getting the first 3 glaze thingys from Amazon - thanks again

[@donbelle7171]

May a buffing wheel at the end .

[@EarthtonesCymbals]

If you do it this way, make sure that you are young because with all of the time and labor this method took, you may be elderly upon completion. Two words: Glaze Coat

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Are you talking about epoxy?