Somone replace the original p-85 with a later model one, the rims are the only bad parts some elbow motion and cleaner and she'll be all purty again!!Jumping2

I'm looking into powder-coating mine. Another angle I'm considering is an original-ish finish, with some nice tube lugs. I've seen a couple of Acrolites with tube lugs that looked *really* sharp.

I have acquired several of these and the other ones are In much better shape. Jrpick inspired me to do something special to this drum. He had his sandblasted and it looks sooo smooth. Just looking for something to do in my lil drum shop....

Are the blackrolites powder coated? There isnt a chrome shop here anymore. There used to be a bumper reconditioning factory here, but its gone now.

Hi Poppy,

Check out this older thread on Drum-talk.com, where I have been a member for quite some time. I think this drum came out VERY SHARP!!

http://www.drum-talk.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8860

Also, I acquired an old, beat up Acro on Craigslist awhile back. I "cleaned it up", and I know you are looking to be different with this, but here is what I did:

I needed to replace everything. Rust everywhere (except on the shell). The only things I kept from the original (other than the shell) were the lugs. I soaked the lugs in a CLR/water mixture for about 48 hours, than cleaned them with a soft nylon bristle brush that was about the size of a toothbrush. Then I polished them with Turtle Wax chrome polish. Came out nice and shiny!

As far as the shell, I put painter's tape on the blue/olive name badge, and then put tape over the holes on the inside of the shell. I then gave it several thin coats of spray paint, "Krylon 1404 Chrome Aluminum". The can actually comes with a shiny chrome-like cap (spray paint always says "Cap matches color", right?), but in this case, it is a dull, matte finish. It matches the original Acrolite finish EXACTLY. And I mean EXACTLY!

After the spray paint dried (I gave it about 3 days just to make sure), I used 0000 Ultra Fine steel wool to smooth out the paint job. I know, I know, them's fightin' words around here to some, but the shell came out perfect! Mine looked worse than yours (scratches everywhere, and it was starting to yellow a bit from all the caked on dirt and grime). It now looks brand new, and the surface is as smooth as a baby's bottom. I put on a New Ludwig P-85 Strainer, a Ludwig P-43 Butt Plate, a new internal tone control, new tension rods, new heads, new hoops and new snare wires (no extra hole drilling since all the parts matched up perfectly). I think it looks awesome, but of course I'm biased. However, unbiasedly that last gig I used it on, a fellow drummer came up to me and said "Man, where did you find an Acro in that pristine condition?" :) I wish I had some pictures of it to post, but I don't.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you do!

I like the tube lugs on that drum. I think I will do the tube lug thing on mine. Thanks for the ideas. I am still open for other suggestions.

Ok heres the coolest stuff I could find for the acro meta....

Heres what I got so far: LUDWIG P-86 Millenium Engraved Strainer, 20 strand snare, brass tube lugs, brass rims, and brass tension rods. I have all these parts on the way. I just need to find a place to chrome my shell. Im thinkin about doing another one in black trim.

SO for about $140 you can transform any acrolite to a extremely cool lookin drum. How would black , or brass trim look on a blackrolite? Or black on a silver shell? Some day the acros will start disappearing Y'all!!! Get em while you can.

But then, i do this for fun and some of Y'all are in this for a profit, and this idea is probably not a investment thing. I do upholstery for a living, Drums are my hobby/ passion, and the Upholstery business is good!!

Hey Y'all,

I got my acro shell back today from the chrome shop. I got my brass rims, brass tube lugs, and engraved ludwig strainer from drummaker, Im just waiting to the brass tension rods to put it all together. Its gonna look pretty damn cool!!!