John,

Fantastic job and fascinating read. It is amazing how much blue has remained in that wrap.

Yep, the shell came out great considering it's age and how long it was stored without cases. If you look carefully at the photos you'll see that the central/exposed portion of the wrap has aged. It is slightly darker than the wrap that was protected under the heads and rims. The blue is a little lighter on the edges, but I like the darker, more aged color better.

Once these are put back together they'll look damn near new. There are no parts missing, no extra holes, no cosmetic problems other than tons of rust on the metal parts, so I should end up with a pretty good facsimile of what it looked like when it was new.

Stay tuned... after the bass drum, I'm going to tackle one of the tacked toms. I've never done a tacked head before, but I know 'how' it's done. I'm excited to try it and see how it comes out. If the job proves too difficult, I'll drive the toms over to Jack Lawton and let a pro put the tacked heads on. I think I can do it... we'll have to wait and see. It's going to prove to be a speed challenge because you have to tack the head down while it's still wet! I'll be playing 'Beat The Clock!' :D

Back to buffing hardware.

John

That wrap looks great, reminds me of a swimming pool on a warm, sunny day.

What are you using to buff the hardware? Do you use some sort of polishing compound? I'm going to have a big pile or Rogers parts to get cleaned up and I have a buffer for my drill, wondering if that will save me some time on my project...

Great thread. Thank you John.

KL - I use stick compound on my bench mounted buffing wheel. The compound comes in a square shaped stick, like butter and it has a chalky consistency. I rub some compound from the dark stick (the more abrasive compound) onto one of my buffing wheels. I'll run the parts through and then swap out the buffing wheel for one that I use with the polishing compound (white stick, all polish, no abrasive,) and it leaves the parts shiny and clean.

About your 'swimming pool' remark... my wife spent several years sailing her 40' Cutter sailboat (alone! Quite a lady!) from island to island in the Caribbean. The first words out of her mouth when she saw the wrap on the drums was, "Oh my God, it reminds me of the ocean!" She's been going on for days about how the color of the wrap reminds her of the Caribbean waters. I'll have to tell her that she's not the only one who sees 'water colors' in the wrap. :D

Patrick - Thank you... check back from time to time. This drum kit is going to be something special once it's been rehabbed.

John

How well it works will depend on the amount of RPMs your drill will produce.

Try fastening the drill to a solid surface, set it on the highest speed and lock the button so you don't have to activate the trigger to keep it running. After knocking or soaking the worst of the rust/crud off, apply the appropriate grade compound and ease into it. (the more crud you remove prior to buffing, the longer your wheel or bonnet will last)

http://www.pjtool.com/***elers-rouge-polishing-kit.

Mick - Thanks! Great tips!!!

John

Two T-rods away from finishing the bass drum! The rust is gone. Photos tomorrow...

John

John you must be retired to have this kind of time on your hands, you see I want to be retired but when you have a 13 year old at home, I must keep on truckin

Gary - I'll be 66 in January. I worked real hard all my life and when my ticker started giving me problems, I took early retirement at (62) for health reasons. Both my children are adults, my daughter is 42 and my son is 39. My time is my own and I've been loving not having to wake up at a certain time everyday, not 'having to punch-in any place, and not having to deal with the morons and stresses of maintaining a full-time job.

Been dere, done dat! It's -my- time now, whatever is left of it and I plan to enjoy it until check-out time!

Photos of the bass drum in a little while, check back.

John