So a good weekend of progress on the Orbit kit - the wrap is tight and all the seams look great - a few small chips on the exposed edges, but nothing too bad.
The buffing route wasn't working, and as much as the cool vibe of the stains/fade was somewhat appealing, it wasn't consistent, so I decided to go the wet sanding route.
The before picture shows the weirdness we saw in the shop (Kemps Music, Vincennes, IN). Notice the discolored streaks running across the shell - like it had gotten extremely hot and melted. Clearly not your normal sun-faded BDP wrap.
As I started the 400 wetsand, the gunk gave way and yielded to the sanding, emitting an odor smelling exactly like Vicks VapoRub menthol - so I'm guessing this may be the worst case of nicotine encrusted drumwrap on the planet! The kit must have spent a long time in a smoky bar, then somebody stored the 12 on its side in the sun, and the gunk eventually ran down the shell. Whatever the case, the 400 broke through well enough. There are two panels where the staining was worse than the others, and I didn't press my luck going deeper, so there will still be a little vintage MoJo left. Pics show the 400 wetsanded 12 against the untouched 14 (14x14) and the 12x20.
Work continues.....
