I don't have a kit to match the maple finish I want on the drum.

I would definately get a drum router guy to do the edges if need be. I sanded them today and they're pretty good....so far.

I [COLOR="Sienna"]LOVE SPARKLE TOO[/COLOR]

I will get the sparkle wrap to have on hand. I've got Sparkle Swatches coming - Gary at PrecisionDrum is mailing them.........NICE!

But, I want to do the Tung Oil finish first.

I am looking at wood dyes & I'll add the T/O on top to get the finish I want - testing it first on some maple wood.

I'm looking at something like what they sell here:

https://www.woodessence.com/

Will have to make sure I get a dye that will mix with oil.

They talk about guitar body finishes so it sounds like they know about staining instruments.

[COLOR="Red"]An aside[/COLOR]...........

LOOKS LIKE MY RENOWN THROW'S IN THE MAIL! Thanks to Jeff on this Forum...way to go guy........you're A1

Natural maple goes with ANY kit, trust me. :D My Ludwig African Satinwood snare has a nice honey-blonde tiger maple-ish finish to it and it goes with ANYTHING. ;)

I like the sparkle...but it will look great either way!

james

MAYBE - I'll do half (left side right side) in Sparkle & half naturalEye Ball

maple finish...this is why...almost every gretsch drum i had (especialy roundbadge) always fit a skin/head tight! so maybe going with the finish instead of the wrap the skin will fit better ;-) better tuning/better tones/better great gretsch sound!!! ???

Gary here is one of the best places on earth, stewart mcdonalds, Dan Erlewine is one of the Top Guitar Luthiers in the world, He built albert kings favorite flying V guitar, they have everything and i mean everything you need to finish your drum stain wise!! www.stewmac.com

Awesome site !!

Bookmarking.....

I'm gettin' some of those foam buffing pads.

I think I would agree with the point of how wonderful a natural looks. And I don't know about the whole dyeing wood thing. If you want, I can give you the formula for the lacquer treatment I did on my hoops. It is a satin lacquer. I added 30ml of "Shaker Pine" stain per 8 oz of lacquer.

The trick is to mix it thouroghly with a screw gun and something like a bent piece of coat hanger. I know the directions say not to, but that is the only way to mix it in, and then you have to use what you mix, because for some odd reason, the stain acts as a catalyst and causes the mixture to set up like a very slow working epoxy. I am not talking about fast enough to dry while you are working, but after a few weeks, it gets rather thick and gummy. I rub between coats with 4/0 steel wool. Then as stated earlier, you could wrap if you don't like the results.

Also, like everyne else...my goodness, those edges are gruesome. Did you true them up on a flat surface before putting back to 30*?

Yes - great site Vintagemore...!

Ha ha jonnistix - you like the edges too. Well, the truth is it's just the way the reflection and angle of the shot that makes them look worse than they are. I sanded them a bit today and they're pretty good. I took a look at the photo after the first comment here and thought - what the!! I put the drum back on the cabinet and it was fine.......little spaces here and there - that's all.

I thought about having them routered but they don't need it.

I have a Glass Table top - tempered sheet 30x72 - that was sitting around in my back yard - it's in my shop on the desk all ready set up for the final assault on the edges. I'll have to pick up some adhesive backed 120 grit first. I'll give the drum a good going over on both sides - should be good to go after that.

THE VERDICT IS:

1) When the wrap Swatches get here I'll pick the one I like best and get the wrap.

2) I'm not bothering with any fancy dyes or stains. I'm going with Tung Oil - simple. It will bring the wood grain out nice & it's an environmentally friendly product.

AND - like it has been mentioned here a number of time.....if that doesn't work out to my liking I will be able to put a very nice Gold Sparkle/Glitter or Bermuda Sand Sparkle wrap on this great little Gretsch drum.

I should have all my parts by the middle of this month if everything goes well in the mail department.

Thanks eveyone for weighing in - lots of good ideas and information.

If you can't decide, you could leave it natural and put a red glitter racing strip down the middle.Excited