So I went to the art supply store down the block here and they are out of Dura Lar right now. They were out of it 3 weeks ago when I went in but I thought they'd be re-stocked by now. Anyway just waiting to hear from them when it gets in. I did some looking online and you can get Dura Lar in rolls, up to 40" by 50', also it comes in 0.010 thickness as opposed to what I've been using which is 0.005. It occurs to me thicker might be better and having a roll would be nice but it is too much $$ outlay all at once.

The upside of the Dura Lar delay is I thought some more about it and once again bartw comes through, with the suggestion of gently pushing the glitter into the carrier as it dries; it really is important to have as few glitter bits as possible flat against the top sheet. If you think about this type of wrap being made as a block and then shaved into sheets, there would be very few bits that happened to line up perfectly flat against the top surface, strictly by the law of large numbers. So instead of piling the glitter on, which pushes it down to the back of the top sheet, I'll try to shake it on there in the amount and distribution for the final look, not worry about getting it on there as quick as possible; if it sits on top for a bit and then gets pushed down just a little during drying, I think that will make for the most random multi-directional placement. This is so important because in certain lighting angles the wrap just looks like awful bathroom tile with too many bits flat at the surface. This is somewhat offset by the fact that, on the shell, it will be curved from all angles of view. Still, I want to make it as cool as possible...

Mitch

Mitch, still waiting for more dura lar ?

Yes I am Jeff, still haven't got the call from the store....

Mitch

Stage a sit in Mitch, don't leave till some shows up :)

Lol I'll get a group together for a chant - "what do we want? dura lar! when do we want it? dura lar!"

Dura Lar has arrived and in my possession. However, I really need to focus on finishing a painting I've been doing for my brother, been a while now and I must get it finished.

Lame update! lol........will post pics of process when it happens tho....

Mitch

Finally got back at this recently. I can report that the combination of Dura Lar, Polymer Emulsion, and German Silver Glass Glitter is a total winner.

The one and only most important key is this - make sure you apply the emulsion to the Dura Lar sheet nice and thick. This prevents the glitter from "landing" on the surface of the Dura Lar, keeps it suspended and random in its positioning, and replicates a fantastic, perfect silver glitter drum wrap.

However I did not do this on the sheets for the floor tom [lol]. It was only after the main large sheet dried completely that I could see this phenomenon - the areas where I had allowed the emulsion to be very thick are perfect and amazing. Most of the sheet has the glitter right up against the Dura Lar sheet and does not look that great *at certain angles of light*.

The get-out-of-jail-free card, however, is that with the wrap oriented horizontally on the floor tom, and with the relatively tight curvature of the 14" shell, this particular light angle doesn't get a chance to "happen" very much. So I'm installing this sheet and the smaller piece needed to cover the shell on the floor tom, as opposed to the bass drum. They both need a large and smaller section. When I do the bass drum I'll lay the emulsion on real thick and the wrap will look perfect even with the looser curvature and more chances for the "bad light angle".

Here are some pics of the floor tom with blind wrap, [remember you're looking at the "bad" sheet with too thin emulsion layer], and a sheet marked for emulsion application [smaller sections for floor tom and bass drum]. The markings and extra area are to avoid emulsion sucking under the edges. I have been applying the emulsion with a sponge "brush", but am currently considering other methods [possibly a roller] for the sheets to come.

Also of note is that I've had to order another pound of glass glitter as one pound won't cover this Club Date kit. At least not with the tests I've done and the method used so far; it might be possible to apply less glitter with the thicker emulsion layer. It doesn't matter how thick you put it on - this emulsion is amazing and dries crystal clear.

That's all for now I think...:)....except to note that, as usual with these cellphone pics, the thing looks waaay better in reality!

Mitch

Impressive!!!

Looking good Mitch!

Thanks guys. I realize this is not a very good thread for process - I haven't really laid out the steps in any helpful way. When the new batch of glass glitter arrives I'll get my Michelle to take pics and lay it all out step-by-step. For instance, after each application of glitter I have been lightly scrubbing the back with a plastic cleaning brush to remove loose bits. There's no backing paint layer. I had thought of applying a last coat of emulsion to seal it, but it's not necessary after the scrubbing.

Once I lay out the steps I'll put a note in the first post in this thread to go to page X for the step-by-step...

Mitch