Plastic laminate (Formica) is much thicker than the old Cortex stuff. It will be springy, brittle and tough to work with, but I suppose it could be done. I bought some drums once that were wrapped in plastic laminate, it came off easy probably because the person that did it did not have enough adhesive on the drum or the laminate or both.

I would not use it personally but if you do then I suppose 1" overlap would be enough. And 3/8" down from the edge. Post some pics so we can see how it goes.

JC,

I'd be using vertical grade, which is about 1/2 the thickness of countertop formica. It's apparently identical to the old stuff in thickness and workability, but I'll have to wait until the samples arrive to see for myself. From what I've read, cortex was/is "Formica" brand formica, and was quite brittle in the 60s/70s as well. Ludwig will still put it on new drums if you ask.

I'm not worried about making the material work, more with authenticity in the details, purely aesthetics.

For instance, if cortex wrapped shells had butt joints instead of overlap, I'd want to do it like the originals. If the overlap is larger or smaller, I'd like to know. Did the kick drums and 18" floors have one seam or did they mirror the pearl finishes with two separate pieces? Those are the details I'm concerned with.

Unfortunately I don't have a cortex drum to reference myself.

I did not know about that vertical grade stuff, interesting. I have done very little laminate work in my days but when I did, it was 30 years ago. Sounds like you know a lot more than I do about it, forgive my negative attitude, I just don't like the stuff. And I did not know that Ludwig actually used Formica on drums and will still do it, interesting as well. I hope someone will chime in with the lap details, now I want to find out as well. And I hope you keep us informed on the wrap project, we love watching others work.

I had the same attitude towards Cortex, generally an undesirable finish for 70's Luddys.

I've been researching rare Ludwig finishes, however, and learned that black cortex was a common choice for professionals in the late 60s before the solid finishes fell out of favor. You can find keystone and WFL drums in black cortex, and I think in that context it's quite beautiful as a no-nonsense finish. All business.

I'm a sucker for authentic restorations, and the rarity of late 60s black cortex with keystone badges is appealing. Second only to Green Duco, which I don't have the patience or funds to pursue right now.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/DfhwDqV.png[/IMG]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/hgcdqCr.png[/img]

Wow, those look really nice.

Turner… one seam on all drums… 6 thru 26"

Where would one get vertical grade Formica?

Is it more or less expensive that Delmar?

clubdate64, you can get vertical grade formica from any cabinetmaker's supply. Even home depot can get it for you.

Its world's cheaper. An 8x4 sheet will wrap 5 or 6 drums and costs $40-60.

This seems like a good idea for my rocker II set, the original gray is bubbling.

Wrapping a 7 piece is a lot of money.

Maybe I'll wrap it in butcher block like my grammas counters in the 70'sLaughing H