During the process of me hauling all these into the kitchen I noticed one of the supras was significantly heavier than the rest. Im a little excitied about that. I went to get some hardwood at home depot today to repair a 100 yr old chase lounge frame, I noticed poplar isnt near as heavy as red oak. I got red oak and a splinter... lol Is heavier better? Brass vs alloy............
Worth more, that's for sure!
Only you would have a brass supra laying around, probably paid about $25 for it too!
Today we soda blasted some finiish on a piece of antique furniture. It really ate into the wood... ahhhhhh wellllll
It sucks learning the hard way! Oh well, screwing up teaches us what not to do next time.
Pull a lug screw out and see what the inside of the hole looks like. Christmas may come early for you! x-mas3 Let us know what you find out. As I've been wanting a brass Supra for a while, I'm getting excited for you! Excited
Lynn
I ran into a bit of family drama yesterday and havent brought my scales home, but, I weighed them on the bathroom scales and they all weighed about the same. 8-9 lbs.
I found the thread on your supra polishing. It looks like a good idea to me, but, we dont have a plating shop here in Lubbock Texas. I had to ship my acro shell to Atlas plating in Houston. It cost me $125. I believe you paid $175 to have yours polished. I have 2 supras with no pitts and 2 with very little pitts, 1 pretty pitted and this one with very bad pitting. These drums are 40 yrs old, but a few of them didnt seam to reject the chrome plating. Ive seen 70 model cars with lots of rust and ones with no rust. Im sure it all boils down to where this drum has been and how it has been treated. It may even depend on what day of the week it was produced.
Maybe the pitted ones were produced on Mondays...........
Re-chroming is unnecessary and not recommended.1. Polished aluminum shines every bit as much as chrome plating. (see photo of my drum.)2. The alloy used to make Ludalloy -rejects- the chrome plating. (see your own drum!) After paying to have it chromed again, it'll look the same as it did before you started in just a matter of time.3. A simple stripping of the chrome and a professional polishing of the aluminum is all that is required. It'll have the added advantage of making the job cheaper and the aluminum will never flake again.[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/suprastrip-1.jpg[/IMG]Definition of insanity: Performing the same act over and over again expecting a different result each time... chrome plating will not last/will flake off eventually, on Ludalloy! Period. Why pay to make the same mistake twice?John
Question:
When replating or polishing an old Supraphonic how is the badge preserved in the process? Must it be completely removed prior to taking it to a metal plating service and then reattached? I really hate the idea of altering a vintage drum from its original condition and feel that removing the badge 'damages' the drum even if it the chromium is in poor shape.
poppy - I had -two- shells done at the same time by the plating shop. The supra shell cost $125. to have the chrome stripped, the raw aluminum shell polished to a very high-gloss and then clear-coated. It was a good deal. The drum will never flake or pit again. As for bad ones being made only on Mondays... it's more like; a few good ones were made about 4:30 pm before quitting time on Fridays! Many, many more supras with pitting problems than ones without. It is and has been a very serious issue with these drums.
A plating shop needs to do the stripping, not a do-it-yourself type project. They deal with caustic chemical baths that are monitored by OSHA because they are so toxic. Chrome is applied in stages, it isn't just chrome over aluminum. First they plate the drum with copper (electrolyte copper bath,) then it is plated in Nickel (electrolyte nickel bath) and finally, once the nickel is on, they can plate the drum with Chromium oxide and it will 'take' to the shell. Stripping is also a step by step removal process. As I mentioned, the government has very strict eco laws about working with and disposing of, toxic substances. Don't try it at home! Send the shell to Dallas if you have to, but let professionals do the job right. You'll get back a drum that will look as good fifty years from now as it does when you get it back from the shop. Well worth the money, but that's just my personal opinion.
BuckyB - If you're not prepared to break a few eggs (remove and replace the badge) you'll never be able to make an omelet!
John
The badge must be removed - period.
What does it matter - the drum is not original anyway?
Obviously not after replating or polishing - but not when pitted or with flaking chrome either?
So, removing and refitting the grommet is the smallest harm the drum has suffered during its life?
Not a Supra - but sounding a lot like it, and aluminium as well - I had the chrome removed from my Premier 36 professionally, cost me the equivalent of 40$. I am going down the polish-route, as I like the softer sheen from the aluminium, and won´t have the problem with pitting ever again.
Badge and new grommet refitted.
Jon
Regards
Jon
Yes you have to r & r the badge. oldkentucky drums sells a excellent grommet installation tool. heres a video of me installing a gromet.>>>
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QA8SaYZPiA[/ame]
Question:When replating or polishing an old Supraphonic how is the badge preserved in the process? Must it be completely removed prior to taking it to a metal plating service and then reattached? I really hate the idea of altering a vintage drum from its original condition and feel that removing the badge 'damages' the drum even if it the chromium is in poor shape.
Yes you have to r & r the badge. oldkentucky drums sells a excellent grommet installation tool. heres a video of me installing a gromet.>>>
Laughing H The end of the video was quite funny! You should do a line of comedic instructional videos. Maybe Hudson Music or someone would sign you on. :p
Lynn
