This drum came to me after 52 years of playing, years of pitting, and subsequently being abused by a wire wheel. I got it very very cheaply.
I had it stripped by a chrome shop, Then hand sanded and polished myself, and sent it back to the chrome shop.
I just got it back. Pretty happy with the results!
Looks like a new old snare drum!! Great restoration!!
Cheers
Beautiful. Just beautiful. That was a lot of work, but the result is a drum that will continue to play for years to come.
Beautiful restoration. I never had anything rechromed.
Wow, looks awesome!
It's not easy finding a chrome shop these days. They were pretty much regulated out-of-business years ago due to environmental concerns. This shop did a great job, especially considering this was likely there first drum job.
nice job.
Just wondering, you went that far as stripping it clean, why not just buff the aluminum to a chrome like shine?
I am just wondering if it is going to pit all over again.
Would hate to see that.
Wayne
nice job.Just wondering, you went that far as stripping it clean, why not just buff the aluminum to a chrome like shine?I am just wondering if it is going to pit all over again.Would hate to see that.Wayne
I spend a lot of time trying to buff it to mirror shine, and it looked great....until it was next to a chrome Supra.....
I just got back a re-chromed 1965 Supra. It was a longer process than expected, but the wait turned out to be well worth it. I sent it to a local shop (Abel Metals in Cleveland) that had never done a drum shell, the owner quoted me $100 which seemed more than reasonable. Unfortunately before my part got in the tank there were contamination issues that led to several months of filtering, resin bed replacement etc. I would call every couple of weeks to check on things. When I did, I could tell the shop owner (Bob) was at his wits end and had probably fielded many phone calls from irate customers. I felt bad for his situation and let him know my part was not at all a high priority. My patience and flexibility paid off when he sent me the shell back and only charged me $60. His tank issues are under control now and I would recommend his shop to anyone.
Drummer 69 has it right!
All you need to do to restore any pitted Ludwig metal shell is to have it stripped of all chrome, then polish and clear-coat the aluminum. The drum will never pit again. No need to spend money and time on the re-chrominance of the shell. You can’t tell the difference between a chrome finish and highly polished aluminum. The only real difference is that one is cheaper to do than the other.
John
Great restorative efforts Rotarded and Mr. Toast.
