I wanted a black reso head for my bass many years ago. I painted the inside of a clear head and it still looks nice and shiny close to 20 years later.

Also if you are cleaning Evans coated heads don't use anything with bleach in it, I got a surprise how easily it came off.

Gary

This is a cool thread. Very interesting, especially for dressing up an old reso head. Sort of like freshening up a room with a coat of paint. Like gSonor, I was surprised to have used Dawn liquid detergent to clean a white coated and was stunned when I rinsed it and found I now had a clear drum head! For aesthetics and reso heads for restores, I LIKE THIS IDEA. Thanks for sharing. E Dean Heck Yes Sir

I have sprayed several kick resos myself, and it works great. Definitely a good option for keeping resto costs down when flipping. Adhesive logos work fine, and I've even tried masking the original head logos, (Remo, etc.) which can work if original white is similar. Be interested in hearing how this technique holds up under batter conditions.

Soap and water

I've had real good luck using Quick Eraser Sponges to clean up snare batter heads. They work very well. I get them at the Dollar Store. One sponge lasts about 3 heads.

Thanks Airborne for a great tip!

I tried this today on some old 80's clear Ludwig Rockers heads that were looking a little rough but still in nice shape with no dents.

I hit them with a quick pass of a Scotchbrite pad to scuff them up, then masked around the edge to leave a 1/4" clear reveal above the collars and gave them a couple quick, light coats.

They turned out looking and sounding great!

$5.00 for paint vs.$25.00 for 3 new heads= BRILLIANT!

BTW, I am using these as resonant heads, but I think it would work just as well for batters.

Thanks again.

Randy

Looking great guys! I have some more pictures to post from today. I experimented with a few other paints for the heck of it. The winner so far is still the Rustoleum textured. By far the most forgiving and easiest to work with out of the lot.

Krylon Plastic Fusion - worked ok but required more prep and not as forgiving. I tried using it as a base coat for the Rustoleum but it did not work as well. All the heads I painted today had been washed with soap and water and then cleaned off with acetone.

The winner in my book is still the Rustoleum. You don't even have to scuff the heads, it has excellent coverage and is very forgiving. Sure you can just dust on layers but even as impatient as I tend to be the Rustoleum was forgiving. I made a rig that allowed me to do multiple drum heads vertically but in the end I found that laying them flat works best.

So are they batter head worthy?

I have not tried them as batters, but the textured Rust-oleum seems as if it would be as durable or more than the factory coating. The texture is slightly rougher and would probably sound great with brushes.

One tip with Rustoleum is heat the can to around 78 degree's in a vat of warm water. Shake for for at least 10 minutes and should get a smooth coat.

Creighton