I'm thinking you may not know what's under there until you get there.... from my little (very little) bit of experience.. the journey is not much fun.

Best of luck.. hey if you do it, chronical it with pictures and share how it goes.

Thanks for your input, Jim. I probably I'll end up just giving it a go. It's not a rewrap -- this is the factory job. It's literally NOS shell still in the original shipping box. Anyway, I know there's a guy in the area who does re-wraps, and I'll maybe give him a call in advance so I know what I'm getting myself into. The last thing I want is a ruined shell...

Cheers,

Max

It could be as easy as just taking a scrapper to the wrap to remove it, but it probably wo'nt be. Now, a heat gun and a scrapper works pretty good.

I'm sure it's described under one of the headings on this forum.

To clarify, I'm not concerned about getting the wrap off -- I know I can do that. My question is whether or not the glue used to attach the wrap will have discolored the wood. That is, is it possible to salvage a clean shell from a wrapped drum?

Cheers,

Max

You have to be careful when removing the wrap because some of the veneer might lift with the wrap, ruining your woodgrain finish. The glue should not have a negative effect on the wood. It is just time consuming and tedious getting it all off. Try using a real sharp paint scraper and acetone, it worked for me. I tried stripper and adhesive remover, the scraper worked the fastest. good luck

After getting the glue off per lucky's post above, if you intend to stain and finish, you need to remove all traces of the glue by sanding. Otherwise, the stain will not take evenly. Good luck!

http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=91346

Kind of an average guys description of his adventure in removing wrap and refinishing... (one of many out there on the web including a good one in the "restoration and help" section here).

Seems being very patient in removing the wrap so as not to pull wood off with it is critical!!

That's exactly what I was looking for -- thanks! I'll chronicle my attempts once I get going. Cheers,

Max

Yeah and be careful sanding, depending on your drums that last layer of veneer might be pretty thin. You can put mineral spirits on the shell to check for glue residue. It will kind of act like a stain but it will evaporate so don't worry about the finnish.