I recently acquired an old 28" x 14" Ludwig marching BD. My goal is to refinish the shell and hoops and use it as a smaller sized concert/pit bass drum. I would like to stain the shell, and also strip the paint off the hoops and stain to match. Keep in mind I have not done this before, so it will be a learning experience if nothing else.
I have removed the old covering, which was a MASSIVE pain, and took about 8 - 9 hours of working very slowly with a small pry bar and heat gun. Not only was it glued, but the wrap is metal, not plastic, and the overlap was riveted (Had to drill the rivets out). I read somewhere that the wrap was made of steel, can anyone confirm that?
I have already drilled out the rivets and removed the old covering. There are a couple potential issues, which you can see in the pictures. One is that there is grey/black splotches across the entire shell. Is this just left over from the glue? Will it come out when I sand the shell? Also, in a couple spots the top ply has cracked slightly, and has separated just a little bit from the shell. Is there a way to fix this?
I'm also unsure what grit sandpaper I should use to sand the shell. I know it should NOT be totally smooth, so it takes the stain. I just don't know what grit, and if it is best to do it by hand, or if a power sander is ok to use?
Thanks for any help! The more I get in to it, I am sure to have more questions!
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