Here are some progress updates, snare and tom are complete, hardware is cleaned/ polished, 3 stage novus on wraps, new heads installed. There is also a pic of the floor tom before cleaning. The last pic is a cleaned floor tom sitting inside the bass before it is cleaned. You can see the difference in the finish after the novus, as the floor tom looked just as bad as the bass.

That satin flame wrap is in great condition. Mine was much worse off. How did the scrubbing bubbles work? I tried some compound and wax on mine besides the scrubbing bubbles but I could not notice a big difference. I am guessing. Very nice clean up and man will that kit pop on stage.

Wow! what a difference between the before and after cleaning. Beautiful drums!

Holy Frijoles!

They look almost new again...

It Is VERY hard to find Satin Flames in that condition!..What a smoking set!

I'm interested in learning more about exactly how you used the Novus solutions. Can you describe step-by-step exactly the process that you used?

[QUOTE=GretschJazzMan;296226]I am moving on to the bass drum now, the front hoop is missing the wrap insert. Any ideas what to do with this? QUOTE]

Use the original hoop inlay wrap pieces on the top/visible side of the hoops and put the new wrap on the bottoms.

JazzMan…you are doing a fantastic job. That clean up is amazing. I had an identical Gretsch finish with a major paint removal challenge. I could never get it back to a workable state for reasons you'll see in the pic. But yours are going to be stunning. And you've got the matching snare! I have a soft spot for Aqua Satin Flame Round Badges and can't wait to see your completed project all set up. Great work.

Thanks for all the kind words guys. They have come a long way, and I am excited to get them all completed. Good call orangemi on the hoop wrap, I can probably make that work.

As far as the novus process, and scrubbing bubbles:

I have used the bubbles on both hardware and wrap. It was ok on the hardware, but still needed some agitation with a brush or cloth. I went back to using the Bon Ami, brasso approach on hardware.

As for the wraps though, I have used the scrubbing bubbles lightly on the wraps with a damp rag- wipe off with a clean rag and let dry.

As for the Novus, it is pretty straight forward, #3 is for heavier scratches, so once I have used the scrubbing bubble approach, i apply the novus 3, use a shop rag and rub in several directions, apply with a circular approach, then rub vertically, then rub horizontally so as to penetrate all scratches/ crevices. Depending on which drum I will apply to a wider, or more narrow area, with the snare i could apply to half the drum, then wipe off. With the floor tom, due to the height, i applied only to an area about 6-8" wide, then wiped off. I try not to let the #3 dry completely, just a bit of haze. I then use a microfiber cloth to "buff" the remainder off, followed by a damp cloth wipe to remove any remaining excess.

Once the entire drum has been completed with #3, I follow the exact approach of application for #2, although I let the #2 haze a little more, buff, wet cloth wipe and proceed.

The #1 is a spray bottle where as 3 & 2 are what you'd expect a traditional automotive liquid polish to be. I spray the #1 directly on the wrap, holding the drum, somewhat awkwardly so as to avoid it running into the drum and onto the wood edge. Wipe with a microfiber cloth, then buff to a sheen.

I finish the process with a spray application of Meguiars ultimate quik detailer, the same stuff I use on the car after waxing, and in place of wax on my matte paint motorcycle. It adds a nice level of shine and smoothness to the wraps.

Sorry for the wordy-ness, thanks for commenting.

Wow that is a shame, I cant believe someone painted over top the wraps like that.

I love that satin flame, I'd (almost) kill to get my hands on a set like that, just don't have the kind of cash I'm sure they're worth. Is the BD wrap more faded than the toms and snare,that's the way the pic looks?