Man that looks good!! I have a big ol' Pearl dx 6 piece kit (5 toms and a bass drum) that I just "unwrapped" and was planning on doing something similar to. I don't think I could ever get it to look as good as that though! What did you use to finish those shells?
fish is correct, experience is the key here. But to answer your question, after removing the wrap I found birch veneer that had a million scrathces from being sanded across the grain (YIKES) so I had to use my Festool to sand them away. Fortunatly the veneer was still good after the aggressive sanding. My finish supplier used to have a blue dye on their color charts. I called them up and they still had the formula for it. So after making up some samples I decided to go with the color. Using a spray gun, fogging it on very slow while turning it on my manual turntable that I spray doors with. Once I got it as dark as I could I used some of the dye to color the next finish material which was a level sealer. Built up more color with the sealer then top coated with a gloss lacquer.
These are all products that you dont get from Home Depo. I use them to finish kitchen and bath cabinets. But if you got the shells sanded and ready you should be able to locate a finisher to do the spraying for you.
Next I am working on a table that spins by itself. I am going for a fade from light to dark look. Already tried it with an ols shell and I think it will be easy, once the turntable is ready. Here are som pics of the work in progeress.