I would recommend against using any cleaners. The finishes on these drum are notorious for having problems with the clear coat and even some corrosion below the black chrome.

I've attached a couple pics of my BB that has a few of the problem areas. Mind you this drum was babied its entire life, i.e., main snare for just a couple of years before moving to a Coliseum (not many heads changed, still has original snare side head); lived in a climate controlled house; no chemical cleaning; only been wiped down a few times. Note that the corrosion marks are below the line for the drum head hoop, so I don't think these issues were started by erosion when changing the heads.

I would just use a damp microfiber and gently clean the shell. If it's a bit junky I would try some Dawn dish washing detergent; making sure to gently dry the drum after water steps (even though brass is supposed to corrosion resistant, I'd say the black chroming layers are the issue).

If you must use chemical I would look for something that has ZERO abrasives and rather cleans by chemical reaction. This is to protect the clear coat. Test the cleaner on the inside first to see what the results may be. However, this may not be the best test as I don't think they clear coat/spray the interiors (mine looks fairly dull).

I agree with Hoppy, good advice.

I use blue dawn mixed with water and wipe down and dry with terry cloth.

Nice drum Hoppy, yours looks so much blacker than mine, all though yours is younger maybe they changed the formula.

Mine is 1977 when they first reissued them.

Bingo! I think that is the best cleaning method and minimizes the impact to the finish.

Thanks... your drum looks really nice too. I really like the pointy badge!

It really is a trick of the photography lighting/exposure/post production. I've got some pics were it looks lighter with a different lighting setup and change in exposure (see attachment - almost looks dark bronze/brownish).

Your BB is older by a number of years... I picked mine up in May of '81, so it's born on date was early '81 or mid/late '80 I would assume (I don't think these were "flying" off the shelf in my local store). I really wanted the engraved model, but the extra $40 or so dollars seemed like a million $$$ to me back then!!! I did pick up an engraved model during the Ludwig 100th Anniversary year as treat for myself.