A wood conditioner may help the wood absorb the stain evenly. Use this only if using oil stain.

You may want to try water based first as it can be sanded lighter and deepened in layers. You can still use oil after if you don't see what you like.

Hopefully some of the gurus will post up some gems.

I do know this.

DO NOT shellac the interiors.

Don't sand the interiors either.

In fact, do as little with the interiors or edges as possible. You will loose your vintage sound.

Take a look at these videos starting at the 3:00 mark of the first one!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5jl8PGUYuk[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxNy-vF0rG8[/ame]

Thats great, helps a ton. Thanks so, so much.

Another option to consider is colored lacquer. It skips a few steps, and is very easy to obtain a uniform finish, rather than worry about blending and matching lighter and darker panels.

This kit was done with colored nitro cellulose lacquer (not by me, and unfortunately the guy doesn't do it anymore): http://www.classicvintagedrums.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=93&products_id=735

Fantastic info.

I never knew about the soap during sanding.

Thanx a bunch for posting this.

Bill, The I myself called a couple fine furniture repair men, and cabinet maker to do the job. I wanted to use a nitro lacquer, 1 guy told me he didnt work with that/ or it was illegal, wasnt sure where he was goin with that. The other guy said poly was the same. Im guessing it be really hard to find colored nitro? As I myself only found the clear coat at reranch. That kit looks awesome, thats what Im trying to do. Thanks for the bass, its awesome!

I don’t know where you are located but my supplier Oharco.com makes a shading additive to add to the lacquer. The additive matches whatever stain color you are using and can even be made for a custom matched stain color. I use all M.L. Campbell products. Perhaps you can find someone familiar with these products or something similar. Some guys mix stain into the lacquer but I have been taught that you should not do that. Maple is one of the more difficult woods to stain. The suggestion of using a conditioner is a good one. I make my own conditioner by mixing 1 part of stain base (clear stain with no pigment added) with 1 part of mineral spirits. If you are trying to match the bass drum then that will be a challenge. Glad to hear you are looking for a professional to do the work, this is not a do it yourself project with rattle cans. A guy like me (cabinet maker) could have stain matched to the bass drum and with the use of the shading additive come very close to matching. So you are going the right direction here. Good luck and please keep us posted.

See Keith.

I knew it wouldn't be long before the REAL experts chimed in.

Great stuff. I too picked up some "gems"

Thanx for posting this question.

Yeah I know. Real helpful info here. Thanks