Re-Lacquering a Vintage Grestch Drumset

[kenshireen1]

I have a vintage 1970 Gretsch Tony Williams set on yellow nitro paint. It has some chips and scratches.
What is the best way to get these shells refinished

 

[RIDDIM]

I have a vintage 1970 Gretsch Tony Williams set on yellow nitro paint. It has some chips and scratches.
What is the best way to get these shells refinished

Find a good painter or cabinet maker and get some estimates. Don't forget you'll need to strip the drum of all hardware before you do so. This might be a good time to think about replacing the Gretsch bolts/washers, which may rust over time, with stainless steel hardware that doesn't. Factor in the price of getting the edges redone afterwards, because there may be over spray or dings.

 

[kenshireen1]

Find a good painter or cabinet maker and get some estimates. Don't forget you'll need to strip the drum of all hardware before you do so. This might be a good time to think about replacing the Gretsch bolts/washers, which may rust over time, with stainless steel hardware that doesn't. Factor in the price of getting the edges redone afterwards, because there may be over spray or dings.

Thank you.. I like to keep all hardware original. even washers/bolts, etc

 

[ARGuy]

Some of the 70's drums used self-tapping screws to mount the lugs, and they don't always come out clean and might not be able to be reinstalled.

 

[kenshireen1]

Some of the 70's drums used self-tapping screws to mount the lugs, and they don't always come out clean and might not be able to be reinstalled.

Gretsch did not. I have removed lugs for cleanin

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

You can just do a Dawn bath to clean up the old hardware. However, I have had 60s Gretsch bass lugs that stripped when I reinstalled them. Be careful tightening them because of the self tapping nonsense.

 

[ThomasL]

Some of the 70's drums used self-tapping screws to mount the lugs, and they don't always come out clean and might not be able to be reinstalled.

I think this started in the 80s (Techware era)? My 1985 kit had those.

 

[JDA]

(so not all hex head G screw (post 67) thread were created equal huh

 

[ThomasL]

(so not all hex head G screw (post 67) thread were created equal huh

Now that you ask, I realize that I never removed the lugs from my 74-ish SSB kit, so I'm not sure...

 

[ARGuy]

Gretsch did not. I have removed lugs for cleanin

Yes, Gretsch did. You just have drums from the era before they started using them, which is fortunate. Now you'll be able to reassemble your drums!