Hey Gerard, I personally like the yellow look but if you try matching other drums it can be tricky. I have some off-cuts of Ludwig WMP that's quite yellowed. If you want some to experiment on I can send you a piece.

Thanks a lot Andrew, that's a great offer. At present all I have is the bass drum and I'm looking out for 13" and 16" wmp toms to go with it. I'm hoping that it'll arrive this weekend so I'll hopefully have a chance to look at it first hand and get an idea of how it might respond to cleaning. It might be that much of the current discolouration will come off through gentle cleaning so I'll see what it looks like then.

Hi Gerard,

Before trying the thinner and sanding method... You could try the peroxide+sun method. I did this to my '57 WMP sonor teardrop. It worked really well, although it did not whiten them totally, just less yellow. I finished with nous 2+1+turtle wax. Shines beautifully. For some pics, see:

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=43828&page=3

In the coming weeks, I'll post some pics of the progress so far.

This method is really safe, and if it doesn't work on your wrap, you can still do the thinner method.

Best of luck,

Koen

ps: the cracks in the bass drum were already there, but the peroxide+sun (humid under the cracks+heath) made them worse and dissolved the glue I formerly put in there. It is NOT the peroxide which made it crack, as on the 13" and 16"tom, 13" snare and both bongo's, it worked like a charm.

Thanks very much for the tip. I'd never have thought about using peroxide but I might give it a go on a small sample area to see how it works. What is the actual product that you use and how do you apply it to the shell? With some of the highest UV levels in the world here, there's no shortage of sunshine!

I can't recall the exact product, but I went to a hairdresser's store and asked for peroxide cream 12% 40 vol. (like this: http://www.superdrug.com/B-Blonde/Jerome-Russell-B-Blonde-Cream-Peroxide-40-Vol-12%25-Lightner/p/42293). I put it directly on the shell with a cloth, which is easy since it is creamy.

I did this in autumn in Belgium, really low UV levels, and it still worked! Just be sure to not leave it too long in the sun (I did 2h max, and then reapplied and again in the sun), and wrap your shells so it does'nt dry out!

If you would take a shot on this, please post pictures too!

Thanks, I'll see if I can give it a go. I've also ordered some Novus #2 scratch remover so perhaps the combination of the 2 techniques may render good results. I'll be sure to post pictures of the results.