@ZenWhat was your process for removing the paint without hurting the wrap? Had you seen the wrap underneath it when the rims were off? What gave it away?
What I noticed first about the black paint finish is that it was deteriorating in the area where fingers touched it turning the snares on and off. That seemed odd. I then took it apart and removed a lug. Whoever had painted it had removed the lugs to do so, but there was still a hint that paint was added over a wrap. The other telltale is that on Ludwig drums this old the wrap is put on the flat plywood so when it is formed into a circle the wrap can still be seen diving under. Like this:
[img]http://black.net.nz/drums/pre-68-wrap-scarf2.jpg[/img]
On mine I could spot the wrap layer once the heads were off.
With my snare whoever did the paint job didn't remove the keystone badge. They just masked it. In other cases the badge may have been removed and then put back on. That can leave signs of badge tampering.
As far as removing the paint goes I experimented first with a small area under a lug in case anything I tried harmed the wrap. I ended up using rubbing alcohol and lots of elbow grease. I had a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol and would place it on one section for maybe half an hour which caused the paint to start to bubble a bit. At that point I just remember hours of fun rubbing with a rag made from an old t-shirt.
There may be other techniques but this was some years back and I wasn't sure what was safe to use on 60s WMP wraps.
And since you asked about prices, I don't track drum prices at the same level of precision I do cymbal prices, but what I've got is an expected range of about $300 to $450 based on 45 completed sales (not asking prices!). Condition matters, production era matters, and certain colors command much higher prices. Can you say Ringo? That instantly triples the expected price. :D
