Recently bought a Ludwig 1966 combo kit for restoration.
During its cleaning I found out that the hardware has a different finish.
Bass drum: 358124 (chrome)
Rack tom: 359741 (nickel)
Is it possible that in 1966 a Ludwig kit left the factory with a different finish in hardware? Even stranger is the fact that the bass drum with lower number has the more recent chrome finish.
Yes, it could happen. Anything is (was) possible with Ludwig at that time. The numbers indicate a matched set. I would call it a "mistake" on behalf of the factory worker who put it together. It would be relatively easy to exchange the nickel versions with chrome and no one would be the wiser.Burger Kin
Thanks for the clarification,...
I've heard the stories of mix-ups and strange things leaving the factory but this is what I would call a flagrant mistake.
(a rough Chicago Monday morning ???)
The difference is very noticeable, is it because of the aging that the nickel has yellowed? The chrome is still in superb condition and very shiny.
As this will be my home-playing kit, I'm leaving it as it is.
The way to look at it is that it' s just adding a nice story to the kit.
More "nickel to chrome-transition" as this one will be hard to find I guess,....
That's true and I'm actually glad that you feel that way. You DO have a "rare" set in that regard and accepting that unique-ness is awesome.
The thing with nickel is its place in the plating process.
Things like lugs start out with a casting base metal and then that is electro-plated with copper -which is that pinkish orange color we all know.
The next step in plating is to electroplate the copper with nickel -which coats the copper, but is still slightly transparent so that the copper hue underneath still comes through a bit adding to the "warm" color of nickel.
Then finally another electroplating process adds the chromium -which is a LOT harder than nickel and changes the warm tone into a "colder" "blue" mirror finish.
Nickel oxidizes in air and forms that oxidized layer that gives it that dull powdery look. In this regard, nickel must be maintained by continued polishing whereas chrome is pretty much impervious and relatively maintenance-free. Because of this, chrome was considered to be the more deluxe finish between the two.
You can polish out the nickel with j e weler's cloths and then finish it with some kind of automobile wax or one of those one-step "Nu-Finish" treatments and that will slow the re-oxidation on the nickel...but it is a higher-maintenance finish.
