To me the answer is a question: "do you think you'll ever sell it?".

If you'll never sell it then it's up to you and doesn't matter except to you.

But if you might sell it someday, most buyers value an untouched, unpolished specimen higher than one that's been altered in any way.

Cars are like that. If you had an old 20's car that had all kinds of dings and scrapes, if it were a historic vehicle, the price would go down if you painted it and made it look "perfect".

Myself, I'd want to polish a drum like that if I kept it, to make it look like it did when it was new, unless it had a funky cool look as is.

Seems to me that most all of the collectors on this forum have stated that the rules of antiques preservation do apply to rare collectible vintage drums. And that there is a difference between preservation and restoration. This thread might interest you and apply to your situation.

Best wishes!

Most drums are fine to clean up and polish. Antique furniture is a whole different thing we are usually talking 100 years or older.

Old guns, swords, medals should be left alone.

Also, old marching snare drums that are military based should be left alone. A marching drum historian needs to see as much original condition as possible to learn about the drum. On those drums the original hoops are very important and give an indication if and how much the drum was played.

Your drum is fine to clean up and will not change the value as long as you use the proper methods and materials.

David