1920's Leedy Engraved Elite

[CTMichaelV]

Picked up a 1920’s Leedy Engraved Elite that the shell had been painted white and the rims black. The person I bought it from had given up on trying to restore it. I knew beneath the paint and grunge was a snare that needed to be brought back to life. Will need to find a 3 point strainer as someone replaced it with another not period specific. Here are a few before and after pics. Not perfect but it has character and will sit with my other Leedy snares.

[salty 1322]

What a fantastic looking drum and what a great job you did on bringing this remarkable instrument back to her former glory! Amazing!!!
Brian

[kevins]

Amazing come-back, Michael .. !!
How long did it take, and can you share some about the procedure you used?
Thanks .. !!
Kev

[campbellh]

Originally Posted by CTMichaelV

Picked up a 1920’s Leedy Engraved Elite that the shell had been painted white and the rims black. The person I bought it from had given up on trying to restore it. I knew beneath the paint and grunge was a snare that needed to be brought back to life. Will need to find a 3 point strainer as someone replaced it with another not period specific. Here are a few before and after pics. Not perfect but it has character and will sit with my other Leedy snares.

Given the original state, I'd say you did an admirable job! Thx for saving a piece of drum history from the bin!

Best wishes,

Bob

[DRUMR69]

It still baffles me that people paint beautiful drums like these.
Great job Michael on this, worth the labor for sure.
I have done a few myself, not extremely fun to do but worth it.
Nothing like the feeling of saving something like this in the end.

Wayne

[CTMichaelV]

Originally Posted by kevins

Amazing come-back, Michael .. !!
How long did it take, and can you share some about the procedure you used?
Thanks .. !!
Kev

Hey Kevin and fellow VDF members
The previous owner tried to remove some paint and put some scratches into it. I believe in chemistry . . . and gentile elbow grease

- Started with a Dawn bath to remove grunge

- Soaked the hardware in Evapo Rust overnight and then rinsed them off the next morning in warm water using a plastic bristle scrub brush.

- Coated the shell and painted rims in EZ Strip a paint and varnish remover and let them sit for about 4 hours, some of the hardware also needed this step. Used a plastic putty knife to remove as much of the paint as possible

- Recoated them with the EZ Strip and let them sit overnight.

- Next morning I went at them again with the putty knife to remove the residual paint then and put them in my utility sink under hot water and went at them with a plastic bristle scrub brush. That pretty much removed the majority of the paint from the shell, the rims and hardware.

- I used White Diamond metal polish on all the parts next to get any residual. Also used Mothers Mag Polish on the strainer, and tension rods.

- Last step was 3 coats of Meguiars Carnauba Wax and a buffer for each coat on the shell. The hardware and rims got 2-coats and hand rubbed with a micro fiber towel.

For all of my drum rebuilds I always give them 3 coats of Meguiars Carnauba Wax using a buffer. Really keeps them shining and repels tarnish.

Took quite a bit of time (8 + actual bench hours) but in the long run it was worth it as I think it came out great.

BTW - Don't forget to use latex or nitrile gloves. You have to protect the digits to be able to play it when your done !

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments !

[mlayton]

Well done! What a great drum.

Mike

[kevins]

Thanks for sharing the techniques and products .. !!
Well done !!
Kevin

[longjohn]

Great work Michael.. and obviously a very rewarding outcome for you... Love seeing these historic pieces being brought back to their former glory...

Cheers
John

[grantro]

Awesome save!! Kudos to you Sir!!

Cheers