I've never stained a complete shellpack but I did refinish a 49 Gretsch MAHOGANY Parade drum shell and a mid-60's Gretsch Dixieland MAPLE snare both with Tung Oil. Tung Oil preserves the wood and if you do happen to scratch or ding it it's a very easy fix compared to other finishes....you just sand and put some more Tung Oil on.....easy.

I did put a clear gloss lacquer over the Maple Snare shell.

Kona,

Great looking shells. How did you apply the clear gloss to the snare?

I rubbed it on with a soft lint free rag. I tried using one of those little sponge brushes but I couldn't get it go on streak free. The soft cloth worked great.

RK solid Maple shell, stained Mahogany, finished w/ tung oil to show a very natural wood grain.

I pulled the bubbled wraps off these old PDP Pacifics,lightly sanded them and applied a couple doses of Tung Oil to bring out the grain, then 4 coats of clear spar polyurethane. The shells were actually pretty nice. I think there some type mahogany or bass wood?

I play them out frequently when performing outside gigs. Sometimes it hits the 90's and don't want sun,sand,rain,and heat on my nice or vintage kits. I think I gave $70 for these from a CL add. I just have that reso head on there from something I had lieing around. Those obviously aren't Yamaha's. They actually sound pretty good. Try some tung or danish oil on your shells and see how the grain comes out. It will darken up the wood a little and bring out the grain if there is any. If they look good I would not stain them. I like the natural wood. Natural Lacquer or polyurethane them.