Well I found a cheap MIJ 5 1/2 X 14 snare shell and thought it would make a good candidate for a restoration project. So I snapped it up and after about a week it came. Well I was a bit underwhelmed when I saw it, it almost seemd like just a bucket of junk to the unaccustomed eye.
Here is what it looked like:
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0348.jpg[/IMG]
But I could see beyond the mold and the rust. So I set to work, first I cleaned up the chrome. To my surprise there was very little pitting afterwards and I was able to get all the rust off.
But the outer layer of the shell was in bad shape, very loose in some areas. I tried to glue it back down, but it was no use, it was just not salvagable. So I had to remove it:
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0354.jpg[/IMG]
I wasn't too worried because I knew that the wrap I was going to replace it with is pretty thick and I planned to cement it down thoroughly like the big name US manufacturers do. But that was still a long way off. First I had to recondition the shell. So next I started on the rust left behind under the internal washers behind the lugs:
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0350.jpg[/IMG]
That really wasn't enough though, so I primered the inside and completed with a couple of coats of gloss white. I've heard that coating the inside with a glossy lacquer or paint can help focus and improve the sound.
Next I focused on the bearing edges. They actually seemed well cut with the old 60's style rounded edge, but after 40 years or so there are always imperfections so I sanded down with 320 grit:
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0356.jpg[/IMG] And finished off with wax to fill in any pits.
Since I received the drum without any wrap or finish I had no idea what the original wrap looked like, so I figured I'd go exotic. Got a cool wrap from Lumigraf and here is the finished product:
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0358.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee272/preciousimporters/SAM_0364.jpg[/IMG]
It sounds awesome and I think it looks good too. What do you guys think?
