This set is a good candidate for one of Jonnistix's glitter jobs.And as far as the Slingy tom arm-if you use a memory clamp they are fine.Shoot it with your HVLP gun and apply the glitter.PM him-he's very helpful.But you should recut those edges-they look like they have about 1/2"of head contact.

Welcome As I look at this set of shells, Tom is exactly right. I am about to set out to do another run of glitter. If you like, I will guide you, step by step, and make that a gorgeous set of drums. Take the hardware back off, go to the Lowe's and get a quart of Zinnser poly, or a good quart of gloss lacquer ( I prefer lacquer because it is more natural, use real lacquer, not the high tech stuff, but the regular old stuff). Then, if you have a Michael's or Hobby Lobby, get a couple of large containers of Silver glitter. And make sure it is not the "rock salt" variety, as they sell a type of glitter that is a large, bulky grain, and the finish is not as nice as the traditional type of glitter. This is going to be a silver glitter. Let me tell you, the finish is very dramatic, and will amaze you. Pictures cannot do it any justice. Because your shell has been painterd white, silver is about all that will make it, unless you want to add a different color, then we can talk and get a base going. You need a base color, and since you have white already, either white glitter or silver is it. We could mix silver and white on altenating coats/layers and make a killer looking set of drums. I look forward to helping you with this, it is a technique, so I will help you get a good start if you like. I have a request pending to make a video of the technique, so this is a great time to start.

....uh...did I mention you need a larger space, and some visqueen, and latex gloves, and a good sense of humor? You really need this as you will have a lovely glitter covering on your shoes....but we will get to that later....

I have to disagree with you on the edges, Tom. These are 3 ply shells, and sound huge! The resonance of this shell is amazing! The shell you sent me is one of these, and it is the one I am going to do for this job. My WMP is a thin shell and sounds like a bass is supposed to sound, low, thumping....bass!

Great job on cleaning up the hardware! Maybe the gold paint actually helped preserve the chrome? Either way, looks very nice from the pictures.

Personally, I would probably spring for a cool wrap, especially since you got the drums for next to nothing, but I'm sure John's sparkle method would turn out nicely as well.

Thanks for the tip Teverson.

Jonni: I appreciate the welcoming! I've seen your posts, I really admire your knowledge and will to help others. Great library you got in that noggin of yours!

I'm going out today to scout out the materials I wast to use. Real lacquer is a no-brainer, so lustrous. We do have a Michael's around here so I'm going there for the glitter. My plan is to sand, fill, and seal the shells and then do the base coat in black sparkle (larger glitter?). I am going to attempt a technique I imagined last night. I want to dip the batter end of the toms in red paint and flip them back up. The paint will run down the shell simulating blood dripping. I want the red to be mixed with extra fine glitter.

It looks awesome in my head. I've experimented with this technique today and I now know that the hardest part will be getting the red at the right viscosity to get the right drips. Once I perfect this, I will do the shells.

If I decide it's to complex or risky, I will do an alpine green sparkle finish.

As for needing a sense of humor: done done done. You forgot to say a good radio too! As well, glitter on your shoes ain't so bad if you're a chick :p

"I have to disagree with you on the edges, Tom. These are 3 ply shells, and sound huge! The resonance of this shell is amazing!"

That is exactly what I thought. The edges only need a finish sand to smooth them out, maybe some epoxy or wood sealer to fill the open grain.

cn679: Thanks for the compliment! I believe as well, that the gold paint protected the chrome from corrosion and flaking. Glad to have such amazing original hardware.

Thanks Everybody,

Stefanie H.

BEARING EDGES ON THESE SHELLS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. These thin ply shells have a resonance that is very easy to kill when we try to put too much on them. The filler for the edges is not needed. A good sanding at 220 and some lacquer will do the job. When you have the lacquer going, it should be applied to the finished edges as well, unless you are uncertain if you have contour correct. The interiors are brittle after all these years, so a couple of coats inside will preserve the mahogany, after a quick sanding to close the grain there as well. Ah crap. I am off base on the edges, I was not paying any attention at all to the interiors....they need to sanded as smooth as you can get them. Where do you live?

OK, I have to work on dinner right now, so let me get to this after while. I am going to have to grind on this one,. Painted edges could be a blessing, however I fear it is not in this case. So, would you take a couple of clean pix of the bass edges and maybe one of the toms?

So "dipping" the shells may not such great idea, unless we figure a way to protecct them. Maybe get some blue tape and keep a tape line and maybe cover them with plastic wrap. I will post a pic of what I mean...BRB....

Try something like this to protect thoe edges. It is impotant. It is far easier to protect than to have to clean them up.

I didn't even think about the edges getting covered in paint, I was only going to cover the inside of the shell. Thanks for pointing that out. I am going to use the idea with the tape and plastic wrap, easy and efficient. Thanks again for that (and the pic).

So I keep the edges taped off until the final clear coat? That way I can seal them and put my last coat of clear on at one time....?

Great news on the glitter, I found hexagon glitter at Wal-mart! $3 for a soda can sized bottle, with a nice shaker cap. Now I have to decide what color glitter... they had red, gold, silver and clear. I was going for the gold, but thought the silver would match the chrome and look better. Then I saw the clear stuff....wow. You can't really see the flakes until light hit them. Very Very cool.

Whaddya think about the glitter color? Oh yeah and I will get some good pics of the edges tonight.

Thanks,

Stefanie

1) Actually no. You will need to sand the edges down really well. They need to be sanded smooth. I would take my 80 grit and form and get it over with. This way you will no if you need to fill anything. Then hit it with 100, then 220. I would do the edges before anything else, then tape them off...[COLOR=red]BRB...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]2) Describe the effect you trying to attain, and the colors you want. You see, the only way this works is to prep your shell. It is already painted, so unless you have serious damage to repair, it is off to the races. Now that said, it is not quite that easy. White is currently your base coat. Whatever color you are trying to get must have a base coat. I did a "Champaign Sparkle" and started with a brownish stain. It worked very well. [/COLOR]

The silver will go well over white. The first thing is to coat the shell in lacquer, then quickly sprinkle on your first layer of glitter. Also, you can add other color for effect. Say you want it to have extraordinary depth, do the first two in silver, then add the white/clear. And if you really want something cool, add some black, only a very light amount, at the 4th or 5th coat. I used a large sheet of visqueen so that I could recover as much glitter as possible. After each glitter coat, I simply brushed it all back up and poured it back into the container. It's like sprinkling on salt. The first couple of coats go slowly, but then you really start to see the results. Buffing between each coat with steel wool will make for a smooth, glass like finish. I did something like 6 or 7 coats. After you have gotten to the point where you are satifified with the color and coverage, you will want to do 2 more top coats, then the very final coat is a high gloss poly. The effect is dramatic. Once you figure out what you are doing, it goes much faster.

If you want, I can start a video Thursday showing how it works. This takes a few days. I did three shells, and it took me a week, however it was totally worth it.

Taping the proper places and is also key for the reason you have to have enough to get your heads on, and also you have to tape the holes where the parts bolt on, the prep is intensive, but if you use common sense and plan ahead....you win. The first time I did this I had no reference, so it was agonizing at times...

Isn't it marvelous how everything works out-VDF to the rescue!That bass drum looks an awful lot like one I shipped out recently.......The video of the Jonnistix drum recovery method-is it out yet?

I'm still in the process of sanding and filling the shells but I have finished the bass hoops. I removed the white vinyl inlay (white tape?) and sanded all the black paint off. Used Dark Walnut Minwax stain and some Testor's Inca Gold model paint. 2-3 coats of lacquer, 000 steel wool, 2-3 coats more, 0000 steel wool, pumice, rottenstone, 2 coats of wax.

Here are some pics:

[IMG]http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/3441/003ui.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1711/002zju.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3863/basshoopsafter.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9920/basshoopsafter2.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/5492/basshoopsafter3.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9096/basshoopsafter4.th.jpg[/IMG]