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Before and After- Round Badge floor tom
- Thread starter dontfeartheringo
- Start date
bassanddrum84
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Doesn’t even look like it ever had a problem. Great job!!!
WOW! Absolutely beautiful job.
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Looks great, do you have the rest of the kit?
jccabinets
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Nice work
dontfeartheringo
Very well Known Member
Barkeepers Friend, a polishing wheel and lots of patience!
Pedro, I have an ongoing project of "lost cause" round badge shells that I strip, clean, and lacquer. I've discovered that a peeled round badge shell is one of the best sounding drums out there, and I work for a suicide prevention nonprofit for musicians and don't make much money! Since I can't afford a new USA Gretsch kit, I just lie in the tall grass looking for shells with wrap falling off, then give them this treatment.
The kit is currently 13", two 16" floor toms, a drop G 22" kick, and a 24" kick. I just finished a snare, too. I'm ready for pretty much any gig with some combination of those drums.
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andlours
Well-Known Member
What’s your process for lacquering these? The finish on that floor tom and snare looks great!
Killer finish....nice work!
dontfeartheringo
Very well Known Member
So, in the past I've used a buddy's spray booth to do this, but right now there are supply chain issues with nitro-cellulose lacquer. Because I was impatient and because I knew that these were going to be my drums and I'd be ok with a few imperfections, I just bought rattle-can nitro, heated them in hot water, used a standard rattle-can primer, and then did multiple coats (like six, I think?) buffing with 0000 steel wool between coats.
Because lacquer is solvent based, it lies down nice and flat on top of itself, and you can hand buff to as mirror-like a finish as you want, though I like it somewhere between "satin" and "wet piano."
I used a respirator and sprayed outdoors. Lacquer is pretty nasty stuff to breathe and I used to smoke cigarettes, so I have to be extra careful.
OH, and someone asked me about the suicide prevention nonprofit. It's called Nuci's Space, and you can get way more info here:
Nuci's Space
Nuci's Space is a nonprofit based in Athens, GA whose mission is to prevent suicide. With an emphasis on the mental health of musicians, we provide referrals to people seeking help for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other forms of mental and emotional distress. We underwrite the costs o
www.nuci.org
We're a 501c3, so if you wanted to make a donation, it's tax deductible!
dontfeartheringo
Very well Known Member
drumsforme
Very well Known Member
Great Job!....I have a Black USA Shell Bank so I can really appreciate them
14x22, 18x20, 14x20, 14x18, 16x16, 14x14, 11x13, 9x13, 8x12, 8x10 and 5x14" and 6.5x14" snare drums.
14x22, 18x20, 14x20, 14x18, 16x16, 14x14, 11x13, 9x13, 8x12, 8x10 and 5x14" and 6.5x14" snare drums.
bassanddrum84
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Nothing beats a nice nitro finish. I love the look when the paint starts cracking. Almost like a road worn strat
franke
DFO Star
Masterful!
JimmyM
DFO Veteran
You sound like a guy I want to hang with
Doing what you're doing is the only way I'll ever get a choice set of high-enders, too. Can't do the lacquer, though...I'm just going to strip them, dye/stain or dye/ceruse if the grain's suitable, then either teak oil or Tru Oil...I like both but leaning toward teak oil for a non-glossy finish. Definitely black or mostly black, though.
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