I picked up a 70's Premier kit several months ago and have slowly been acquiring the missing pieces for it. The shells are African Mahogany with re-rings made of beech or maple I suppose.
The kit had been rewrapped into what is now some sort of yellowed/aged whitish wrap. The only extra holes are from where there was a 2nd tom mount (that hardware is missing though). I am sure I can find one of those at some point.
I was planning on finding some wrap and recovering it. Then I got the idea this morning that I may want to just remove the wrap and seal the shells. I am NOT a woodworker, but figured I could use a high grit sandpaper to take care of any issues in the wood and then apply some sort of hand rubbed lacquer on the exterior of the shells.
I assume the wood will look like an old Ludwig Marching drum from the 50's and could make a cool looking kit. I have no idea how long I will keep it, and don't really want to drop a lot of money into it, especially since I still need to find some more parts -- 22 inch hoop, 12" and 16" die cast hoops, etc. I have triple flange tom hoops that I can use for now.
Does applying tung oil or a hand rubbed lacquer seem like a good idea to most people on here since it had previously been rewrapped? What grit sand paper would you suggest before I apply the tung oil or the lacquer?
Would you use a wood dye or just apply directly on the wood as-is?
Suggestions, comments, pictures of your projects would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!