It's not that easy - scratches to lacquered finishes can be fixed up by simple furniture polish applied by 0000 superfine steel wool then polished with a fine clean cloth afterwards which is pretty straight-forward.

It's when the lacquer is gone you'll have problems. From memory Camcos stained their lacquer rather than the shells.

One way to get around that would be to match the stain (always difficult even if you're using the precise same Walnut stain they did at the time). Stain also gets darker the more often you apply it and often dries either darker or lighter than when you've applied them.

The lacquer used was nitro-cellulose which is not what is used now and, because it's so noxious, it's also been close to outlawed in much of the EU. Nitro doesn't like being put on top of existing nitro so you'd need to work out how apply the stained lacquer onto just the areas that need it.

Using old-fashioned shellac might be better - slightly shinier than nitro but much easier to work with on touch-ups like this.

Or you could just be lazy and apply bit of brown boot polish until you get something like the right colour, give it a quick buff and leave it at that.

Greetings!

It looks to me like the wood has been damaged and to get stain to work/look good it would require sanding the wood. Its up to you to try and repair the damaged area's and improve the look of the drum somewhat. I have never been successful at touching up anything, I always end up removing all the finish and starting over. But I understand the importance of keeping the drum original also. My first thought would be to leave it alone, a repair could look worse. But if you could get the color of the stain right and brush a little shelac or even some varnish over it, then it might help. You might experiment with the finish under a lug or right on the edge.

Good luck to you, wish that was my drum,lol!

Thanks guys,... inputs from the best!

I have no intention in that specific shell but I might have the possibility to get my hands on a Camco Walnut finished 4-piece set.

The bass drum top has some serious scuffs but I don't believe the wood itself is damaged.

Keep you posted !

Stef, I can almost guarantee you won't regret it, and so much so, that the finish won't Even matter. If it does, in so much as the slightest way, I will be more than happy to cover all your cost associated with the purchase and shipping to the US. Can't beat that! If you don't like them you have a contingency plan.D' Drummer