Hey Clubdate64

Thanks ! I will try that method on the 6th panel in about a week or so.

I am away next week back at my CT house - I need to go to the CT Drum Show on the 24th at 3066 Berlin Turnpike Newington, Connecticut 06111, yes that was a plug for the show. I will try it when I get back to my little work shop here in Montreal.

As an FYI, TommyP and I were conversing on his piccolo and the great results, I went back to the Laquer Thinner panel (Side 1) and gave it a quick wet sanding with 1500 grit then hit it with the buffer and carnauba wax. The wet sanding removed the streaks and it came out just as nice if not better than the LT and Vim (side 2) and the wet sanding method (side 3). Not the same method Tommy used with 2000 grit and acrylic sealer but it actually came out pretty nice.

One thing that he and I were discussing is the highly flammable nature of the LT and the wrap, if it is an old wrap from cellulose. I am not sure on the year of this drum or the wrap as it was a gift from Randy aka randy73. You also need to be careful as the LT can burn through and ruin the wrap . . .

So here's my "It ain't my fault disclaimer". I am just an inquisitive engineer that wanted to try these methods so I don't ruin any WMP drums that need cleaning. Try any of them at your own risk.

Here are some pictures for everyone of Side 1 LT then wet sand and polish.

Keep an eye out in about 2-weeks for the Oxy Clean - Peroxide method from Clubdate64 on the final side.

Pretty impressive results!! Thanks for your time and effort. I have sure wondered how some of these work. So it's cool to see for sure! As I sit here gazing at my pile of mellow yellow WMP drums.

You know I have nothing but massive respect for you Tommy....however! :).....the first pic is all orange, magic hour or sunset type of lighting, where the second pic is all cool blues. My point being, compare/contrast pics need to be shot in the same type of lighting. To really see what's going on, both before- and after-pics should include pure, properly lit neutral white, as in the piece of paper suggested, with the drum beside it.

Just my 2 cents carry on...:)

Mitch

Mitch!

That is of course true!, however ... the BEFORE pic was from the guy I bought the drum from way back, about 15 years ago ... or slightly more actually. When I found that drum for the BR collection, I wasn't thinking of doing anything to the wrap in the way of lightening it. I was going to keep the drum as is! But then ... I found my 1955 WFL Buddy Rich Super Classic, also part of the BR collection of course!, and the wrap on that one was much LESS yellow. So ... that is when I decided to try and lighten the "yellowing" on the 1950 3X13 Buddy Rich Be-Bop to make it match the 1955 BR/SC a little closer. It never even occurred to me to take PROPER before pics as I wasn't thinking of documenting anything! So ...

... after I did my procedure to lighten the wrap, and it came out so well, I took proper AFTER pics using my proprietary blue background. If you have ever looked at any of my snare drum pics Mitch, you would instantly see that the background is always the same! I did that for continuity, and for publication purposes on the BR snare drum/history collection. There is no other modification to the pic/pics. I chose to use a blue background for all the snare drums as it tends to nicely highlight WMP as a general rule. So the final response to your statement is ...

Yes!, what you have mentioned would be the proper way to do it to achieve what they call in scientific research, "a control" ... however, as that was never my intent, I only have what I have for pics. I THANK YOU for your observations and comments though! BEST!!!

Tommyp

Good enough for me!! Bowing

-Mark

Mark!

THANKS!, and you have been here long enough to know too! :) You know, the only reason I ever made mention of the technique I used on that drum was because I was flabbergasted at how nice it came out! I have NEVER done another one since though, and that was by choice. It was a PITA! Was worth it to me to get a better match between the two WFL models in the BR collection though, and the match is indeed very good! That all said ... I photograph all my snare drums against blue backgrounds which gives all of them continuity from pic to pic. Actual lighting can change based on conditions available at the time of photography. I'll attach all FOUR Slingerland Buddy Rich models here .. in order of his use .. so all can see the continuity from drum to drum, pic to pic. No enhancements. It would have been nice had I taken a pic of the 1950 WFL 3X13 Buddy Rich Be-Bop when I got the drum ... but I never did until it was "restored". ENJOY!

Tommyp

Hey Tommy

Did you clean up all of the WMP snares using that technique or were some already in such great comdition? I am still looking to add a BR snare to my collection. These are great examples. Thanks again for all of the insight and coaching.

Michael

Hey Michael!

Have you ever seen my Buddy Rich Snare Drum History collection? I only mention as there are 15 snare drums in the collection, and each model is as Buddy played it when he was endorsing that particular company. The collection starts in 1950 with the WFL 3x13 Buddy Rich Be-Bop that I lightened the wrap on .. but .. that was the ONLY one! The collection ends with the 1982 Ludwig Hammered Bronze SuperSensitive. ALL the other snare drums with the exception of the 1967 Trixon Luxus 1/440 Standard are ORIGINAL and in "as found" condition. Cleaning and restoration here and there of course, but otherwise as is. ALL of them are as nice as the four Slingerland models I put up in the other post. This collection is truly one of a kind as each drum is as Buddy played it .. and .. it took almost 20 years to find them all! The key was to find each model dated/built to when he played it. That's one of the very unique things about this collection. I'll attach a pic from the 2015 Chicago Drum Show where I was invited to display, and it was one of their main features that year too. I decided to use my 1950 WFL Buddy Rich Super Classic set as the center piece as you don't see too many of these that are complete including hardware. Anyway, you can see the 1950 WFL 3X13 right next to the 1955 WFL 5.5X14 Buddy Rich Super Classic, and that the wraps match very well! From there, in order:

Rogers

Trixon

Fibes

Slingerland

Fibes

Ludwig

From 1950 through 1982 was an incredibly active period for BR and drum companies. Again, 15 different snare drums in that 32 year span. I want to make mention that there were other snare drums that he played as well during this period, but ... I focused on the MAIN MODELS that he played the most on a nightly basis. Film, video, pictures, etc. were all part of my research in putting this collection together. I've been a huge BR fan since 1967!, so this was kinda a labor of love. Hope you enjoy!

Tommyp

Those are beautiful pictures of gorgeous drums, I think the blue backing is an excellent idea. Super collection too...and thanks for your reply above :)

Mitch

First happy holidays to everyone!

Tommy,

I had seen pictures of the display but did not know it was yours. What a labor of love!

I hope one day you can make it to the CT drum show with your display. Lots of us east-coasters would love to see it. I didn't even know BR played Trixon's. Would love to see a close up of the autographed head. What size is the head? Thanks again for sharing

Michael