Depends on how many beers I have when I spray!

Jeff the swatch book sample is small. 1.5" x .5" I can do a draw down on coated paper and send that to you if it helps. Like a 4"x4" square is that large enough? Yes I'd think Aaron would want to see the color first. I don't want to complicate things was just saying there's multiple shades of gold. I can go to Home Depot and get some gold swatches tonight and see what's the closest? Lemme know! :)

Laughing H I can see you now with a beer in one hand and spray gun in the other. You'll need someone to spin the table though??

Good idea, I can get the neighbor kid to spin the table.

You not complicating anything, your helping. 1.5 x 5 might work, let me contact my color studio and see about that. 4x4 would work for sure. Like I told Aron, I have the best color matching guy in the business. But how about the black? Is it flat black? And the overall sheen, I suppose satin would be best as it wont show the imperfections in the shell as much as semi gloss. I have always said that the hardest part in building a home is picking out the colors.

Maybe piano black would be nice? I don't know what's best flat, satin or gloss. Not much help there sorry. I'll ask my son what he does when he paints a guitar black and let you know to compare notes. I'll run to HD after dinner and see what golds they have. I'm sure you guy can match the 871 no problem it's a standard color.

Had some spare time so I just went to HD. Not much in true metallic golds but I did find a Martha Stewart gold called "Tigers Eye" which is very close to 871. I'll do some drawdowns of 871-872-873-874 and send them to you along with the MS swatch. In printing there are several shades of black where a neutral black base is used and yellow, green, orange, red, blue, silver are added for different shades. I took a pic of the golds and blacks page. The Martha S swatch is in there too. BTW it's impossible to capture the exact color of my book to what you see on the screen. That's why you really need to see them in person. The coated swatches reflect in light so I had to angle the camera and lighting slightly for the pic.

Glenn, boy you are going out of your way here, thanks so much. Lets not do any metalic stuff, just solid color please. And whatever you print will need to go to Aron first. He wont be available for a few weeks so if we do this it will be a long time before the drums get painted. Im OK with that, we can take as long as it takes, just run it by Aron first. Thanks again for your help!

Oh I thought you were doing metallic gold paint here. I thought the duco's had metallic gold or silver paint? The gold swatches I posted are standard metallic. So your doing just a straight gold paint color then?

I was not aware the gold was a metalic. You see, I like to work with the products that I am used to working with, M.L. Campbell products. M.L. Campbell offers a a pigmented lacquer and has 880 colors to choose from but they are solid colors. They do not have any metalic finishes. I have never seen one of these old duco drums up close, just pictures, and by looking at pictures I did not notice a metalic finish. I wish I had a drum to look at in person. Thanks Glenn!

Jeff - I did one of these awhile back. Spent a month doing research before I touched the drums. There are just a few things you need to know:

1. Back in the 50's/60's Ludwig used surplus/odd-lot paints that they obtained mostly from the auto industry. Nothing tricky about matching Ludwig colors, they're pretty standard.

2. DUCO finishes were applied using a motorized lazy-susan/turn-table type set-up.

3. Always apply the lighter color first!

This is a kit I restored using a turn-table and rattle cans.

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/After.jpg[/IMG]

The gold was a dead-on hit to the Ludwig color. I used: Dutch Boy 'Fresh Look' Acrylic Enamel, #3743 Gold.

Grab an old turn-table at a local pawn or buy & sell. You can get them for $5 - $10. Make a base to hold the drum on the turn table out of whatever stiff, light-weight material you have on hand. Drill a 1/4" hole dead-center to go over the spindle. I drew several guide lines/circles in permanent marker onto the base. Set the shell to your guide line and it will be centered on the base.

Do central stripe first. Ludwig made the stripe wide enough to match the height of the lugs. Use the lug holes as a guide as you paint! Don't allow the paint to dry completely before spraying on the second darker color. You won't get a good fade/blend if the gold is already dry when you add the black.

When you start to add the black, always start at the bearing edges and slowly work the spray toward the center. The second the black kisses the edges of the gold... STOP spraying! You'll get a killer blend at the edges of the gold band, I promise.. Nice and even all around.

Better several light coats than just a few heavy ones.

Have fun. It's a great job to take on. Very gratifying when done and you see the results.

John