SoM, that Bass came out looking sooo nice! I had been looking forward to the next pics and you didn't disappoint, very nice finish. I had exchanged emails with Jstix about his glitter technique. I am going to cover a snare shell using his technique. After seeing yours, I am looking forward to doing one of my own. Are you a Packers fan? the color scheme is reminicent of Greenbay's uniforms. . . . James

Very nice! Makes mine look like...well...are you using a spray rig for this, and auto paint? As for the Polaris, it is likely a Star shell. They were an Apollo line, the Polaris was the Apollo entry level kit. Don't know why they felt the need, but in the nearly 0s, St. Louis Music used Apollo as the higher end as they were beginning to go upscale with them, and used the Polaris as entry. Fewer lugs on bass, lighter hardware...that sort of thing, but the shells are the same.

Father Time: Thanks for the compliments, but no I'm not a Packers fan! I do like their colors, though, and Brett Farve is a very classy sportsman (Not to mention talented!) Didn't he switch teams or retire recently? I'm not really into football.

How I sprayed:

I used a HVLP Gravity fed air gun. I used Minwax brushing laquer thinned 12-20%. I bought http://www.paintwithpearl.com/flakes/mossgreen/mossgreen.htm these and mixed about 2 tablespoons of flakes per quart of clear lacquer.

The only thing I had to buy equipment wise (to run the air system) was a respirator. You know to filter the air. Lacquer fumes are very toxic and pungent.

Johnnystix:

I was going to use your method in the beginning but I realized it would be difficult to get even coverage of flakes and that it would be especially difficult to work with a coat of wet lacquer! Just seemed to hard. So I decided on the air gun because of it's ease of use and superior flake coverage.

Thanks for that info on the Polaris! I knew nothing about them, just that the shells looked very similar to the Star's. Although the Polaris has quite sharp edges on it, not rounded like Star's. Maybe reworked? I need to take a closer look...

Please make a video of the others. I really want to see how you worked the HVLP and the base coating....I am a freak for these types of videos.

I need money for my wisdom teeth extraction so I finally got this kit together to sell. It consists of a 20" Star bass drum, 16" Star floor tom, 14" Slingerland tom, 14" Luwig snare and a pair of 14" Heavy Paiste hi-hats. All drums were manufactured in the late sixties - early seventies. The Paiste's are from 1983 and are 2002 14" heavy hats. I stripped the paint (flat white house paint, the insanity!) off of the Stars and took the wraps off of the Slingerland and Ludwig. I finished them in lacquer: black base coat, clear w/ moss green glitter, and clear top coat. All of the hardware is original except for the rims on the Slingerland tom. The only flaws in the set are: Two lugs on the snare are missing one screw each, they broke off in the lugs due to oxidation/rust/deterioration (tuning is not affected), and there is some slight splitting in the inner ply of the 14" tom.

Ludwig factory 12 snare wires and factory reso head.

[img]http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/5814/34132807.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/705/38047538.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1421/37847394.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/7020/48040166.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9973/12bnj.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/438/p1010353.jpg[/img]

I've listed them on my local craigslist, starting the drums at $450 and the cymbals at $100. I will sell them, but I really don't want to go less than 400.

I think I should have refinished the 13" Star tom instead of the Slingerland, would be more valuable with more buyers. The shell just needed a lot of work.

My air compressor kicked the bucket during the last few sessions. I could spray for maybe 20-30 seconds at a time before losing pressure. I found it very easy to work with, used less paint, and I worked faster. I actually used rattle cans for the base coat, black rustoleum lacquer. You can use any base coat with the flakes (usually a shade of grey) Black makes colors pop the most though. As you know, you build up the layers of glitter until you're satisfied with the look. This takes many coats and sessions to achieve. The result is worth it though.