I'll start with the mahogany interiors your speaking of. The drops your seeing are glue drops not stain, They are probably fine left alone. Are you going to leave the stain on the exterior of the shells ? To clean the metal parts, remove all the metal parts, soak them in a warm water, dawn dish washing detergent bath, Two metal cleaners I use are Simichrome and Cape Cod metal polish, they both works well on chrome and Nickel. And a lot of cotton rags and elbow polish.

I remember the thread, that was an awsome score. If the drums were re-stained at one point and the original finish is gone then I would consider refinishing them. If it is the original finish then leave it alone. But if you do go with refinishing them be prepared for hours and hours od work. When you do get the drums ready for the new finish, hire someone to spray the shells dont just brush a ton of poly on them. You got them for free so put a little cash in them.

But back to your question, first I would take a damp rag and and gently lift, not rub, the dirt off. If you know someone with an air compressor then blow it off. Once you safely remove the loose dirt and dust then you can wipe it with a rag with a little dishwashing soap to clean it. Just dont allow water to get into the holes, remember, damp rags! As far as the harware goes, do what vmore said.

Good luck, take your time and post some pics along the way. It would be nice to see a close up of a shell after the dirts is removed.

Got to spend my first hour this evening....and started with the bass drum. Man..this was dirty...and cobwebby...actually two spiders came out, when I loosened the lug nuts..and hear the wood creak.

This is not glue im looking at ..but the worst stain job Ive ever seen. Runs all over the place. I definitely want to re-stain it. Any idea what color this is? Were the original Ludwigs in this shade>? Im told its the Club Beat model. thanks

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another pic

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prior stain job, amateur?

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check out that layer of dust!

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You have a nice kit there. Just take your time. You'll be very happy.

That is going to be a great project for you. Check the scarf joint on the shells. You should be able to tell if they were originally stained or not. These may have been wrapped. A lot of guys decided to pull their wraps and attempt a stain finish. Often not a good idea as the top layer of wood was generally not that attractive and wrap and glue removal would leave some damage.

You might find that a wrap is a better idea for these. Or you could go with adding a layer of veneer. Or ship them to jccabinets and he will make them look fabulous!

Thanks Scott! Ya ship em here, I just gave another member a price of 400 to veneer with maple and finish with stain and post cat lac.