Greetings Friends,
I am thinking of experimenting with Contact paper on some cheap snare shells that I have. If it doesn't work out, I'm not out all that much, as I got two snare shells with lugs for $20 total, and the cost of the Contact paper would be minimal.
I think the "faux wood grain" Contact paper would be cool for an admittedly generic looking "Butcher Block" vibe. I'm sure there are other cool colors too, but I honestly haven't perused the Contact paper section of a store in...............well.................ever!
Also, Home Depot, Lowe's etc. sells self adhesive "imitation ceramic tile" that is actually a rubber or gel like material that is pliable, made for back splashes, bathroom mirror borders etc. See photos for examples. I think it might be fun to experiment with that stuff too.
As far as surface prep, I think the contact paper would have trouble sticking to bare wood, so I'm thinking about sealing the wood with a few coats of satin finish polyurethane and then 000 steel wool-ing it down so it's nice and smooth. I think I would have much better luck with adhesion to a smooth, sealed, non-porous shell.
Either material I choose would be easy to work with and easy to cut. Even if the adhesion isn't all that strong, the lugs would be holding it down as well. I think this might be kind of fun! And the costs will be a mere fraction of what "official" drum wrap is. Because of that, I could always re-do the drum again later in something completely different if I wanted.
Any thoughts?