They look like someone left them under a couple cans of dripping paint.

I'm glad I'm one of the few with the remaining trauma and other people experience happy nostalgic memories of the fake wood era. Lots of cool stuff going on then and lots of happy memories. Fake plastic wood was not one of them. It is easy to like a vintage set... even if it is cover in that crap. I like your picture. I forgot they were even covering cars in that stuff. Nuthin like a plastic 'woody.' I think if I would not have been a kid and still able to run fast they might have covered me in that stuff. "We are Borg. You will be assimilated... and covered in fake wood grain plastic wrap."

Eh, the countertop finishes are very much a retro thing, and your love or hate are probably very dependent on if you thumbed a catalog or 3 to death in the mid-70's or not. Satin flames are very much the same way - people seem to love or HATE those. I can't stand COW, but I really dig the Luddy Stainless kits. I know they don't look very different, and I can't justify it.

I remember Avacado, Harvest Gold, Red & Blue sunburst, etc appliances, and I dig them in a kind of retro way (though many of them were available as special orders up through the early 2000's, to match little old ladies' kitchens). If they brought those back, I'd give them some serious thought. Yeah, I know fancy colors are available, but do any of them offer Lady-Of-The-Night Red Burst?

[IMG]http://retrorenovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Frigidaire_01.jpg[/IMG]

Or this?

There are people who go crazy for this stuff.

[IMG]http://www.goedekers.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/70s_house_0004_t607.jpg[/IMG]

Your retro cool is just whatever you remember fondly.

That photo was from the 1983 movie 'National Lampoon's Vacation'.

I remember watching that movie with my family. That station wagon still cracks me up, as did the movie. I don't remember much of the 70s though.

I'm with you johnny, that mod orange was one hideous wrap. It's no wonder they didn't sell very well. Now everybody wants one, causing the price to escalate. Oh what a mad, mad world we live in.

I keep hearing the word "fake", it's all fake my friend. Those sparkles and pearls are also "fake". What difference does it make what the wrap was suppose to be an imitation of. I love the finish myself, my band mates and wife actually prefer it over many of the more popular wraps.

Sarcasm and certain humor don't translate well to internet forums. I was just commenting -in excess- of the excessive use of that stuff during the fad. Too much of a good thing (and bad thing) is... too much. If you like it excellent! It has a happy home. I don't like it for many reasons, but I don't hate it. Nobody else's opinion should matter on what makes you happy.

"Imitation?" ... well that might be the one thing that makes that stuff so damn ridiculous to me. Lets make a wood drum. Then instead of using the natural wood grain let's cover it with imitation, plastic wood grain. I don't think it is comparable to pearl wraps. Anybody who thinks that is a set of drums made out of or covered with real pearls... whoa. And those sparkles ARE real... real sparkly. Can't say I like Naugahyde, to. But I don't think I'd like leather covered drums, either. And for the record I don't like FAKE boobs.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lacquer finished drum, like a Thermogloss Luddy or Walnut Gretsch, is pretty delicate when it comes to taking knocks. The Ludwig countertop finishes are INCREDIBLY tough while still looking wood-ish. Probably the toughest finish ever put on drums, and that includes COW - the formicas are pretty difficult to scratch.

Yes, you are so right! Faux wood was indeed a fad in the 70's and early 80's. Now admit it...how many of you paneled your basements and rec rooms with that fake wood paneling? But why was it a fad for drums? I think the primary reason was that many of us in the 70's (me included I confess) were ripping the old pearls and sparkle wraps off our second-hand, mismatched orphan drums to make a matched set in bare wood shells. Plus, the old pearl wraps of the 50's (and even Ringo's OBP) were just "old fashioned" and represented the previous generation's taste, not the natural, back-to-nature vibe of the 70's. It only made good business sense for the US manufacturers to start offering faux wood grains to fill the current market's tastes.

Mike