Seems I remember JR Frondelli posting up about this here or at DFO, man.Just did a quick search here, and nada.... must be at DFO
Kev, your right couldn't find it either, but this is what J.R. told me to do when I asked him sometime back,
Thermogloss was hot-sprayed lacquer, hence the name. When lacquer and the surface to be sprayed are heated, it flows out very smooth, and if done correctly, eliminates the wet-sanding process. Lacquer also has a bit of an amber cast to it, which is why those drums look the way the did new, and faded to even darker yellow as they got older, as lacquer oxidizes.
The best way to simulate or match a finish like this is to wipe on a mixture of Bullseye Clear and Amber shellac (you need to test this on a piece of raw maple to see what mix you need for tinting) as a sealer coat or two, and then spray with clear rattle-can gloss lacquer. I recommend Behlen or Mohawk.
If you warm the shell with a hair dryer and warm up the can of lacquer first, you can probably get close to the original finish texture.