when it comes to old vintage inlays, i too mask them off. some of them are really brittle and will crack if you try to remove them.i always use adhesive moleskin pads on anything that i have that comes in contact with the hoop. i do this for protection of the hoop and the finish on the hoop. its pretty easy and they last a long,long time.mike
Ditto on just masking them off. I use the blue painter's tape anymore instead of just plain masking tape. It is possible to remove the staples that are holding the inlay in place, but if you do choose to do so keep in mind it is NOT going to be easy to replace the champagne sparkle inlay IF it does crack or otherwise fall apart.
Now, as for the moleskin pads... Mike, you and I may have been cut out of a similar mold! Way back on my very first set (1971) any place that I had any metal part in contact with anything it got protected with that. I would buy "Dr. Scholl's" moleskin pads with the self-adhesive backs at the local Walgreen's and 'custom cut' to fit whatever it was... particularly for the pedal clamp parts that came in contact with the freshly refurbished newly painted BD hoops! Shoot, I even would cut a patch of that stuff to use where my BD pedal beater came in contact with the head, and that was considerably cheaper than the pads you could buy for that purpose at the music store (and the only difference was the color!).
Thanks for the "walk down memory lane!"
Bill