UPDATE:
Screws and washers (from FT legs) are saved!
Soaked them in vinegar for 24 hours (probably too long), soaked in baking soda in water for 1 hour, scrubbed the heck out of them with a stiff old tooth brush, dried them in front of a fan for an hour. Primed them with Rustoleum self etching primer (they were down to bare metal), then gloss light grey.
Note the jig to hold the screws still while painting, first I masked the threads, then laid them out upside down on the plywood for priming and painting (light single coats). Once very dry, set them up in this jig to be able to paint the tops.
The washers to the FT leg mounts took to the vinegar VERY well. All rust is out of the pits, it's not coming back. I then hit them with a couple coats of the Turtle Wax Chrome cleaner, and they are ready to go.
GREAT thing that I learned, I have been using my racheting screw driver that has interchangeable tips. If you leave the tip out, it is precisely the size of the bolt heads (for the lugs) and works nicely. BUT, it would have scratched my fresh paint. So here is the tip, use a surgical glove over the end of the screw driver, they are thin enough to allow the screw head to fit into the driver, but strong enough not to rip. Note in the AFTER pic how the paint is perfect.
The 14x14 FT is now complete save the muffler. The screw has a bad thread, I know someone at a local machine shop that will fix it for a couple bucks. Can't afford heads right now, so these old school Ludwigs are going back on. The resonant side is ORIGINAL. haha.
Chrome lugs and legs and leg mounts all came back nicely. The batter side ring is not as good as the 12x8 tom, but it's passable. The resonant side is only 5/10 condition wise, but you can't see it down there....
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Tillerva, a user here, is hooking me up with a complete bass drum lug. The lug itself is nickel and the rest chrome. Fine by me as the missing one is on the bottom of the bass drum. Much easier than buying a lot of 10 or 20 of them on Evil Bay, and then having to sell the rest etc... Thanks Matt.
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I have the bass drum sounding much better doing a little more tuning experimentation and with a set of Gibraltor felt strips that I found gathering dust at the local music shop. I picked up an EMAD (white coated) for the batter side, haven't isntalled it yet as I still have to tear down and restore the bass drum. My budget is super tight, but I couldn't get over all of the youtube videos I have watched of it. I know the foam rings can where out, but I'm not going to be playing the kit 24/7. Going to keep the current 90's era resonant side for budget reasons. -- Also, I just may have not been hitting the bass drum hard enough with the pedal, well, that and it was tuned HORRIBLY. :)
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PS - Thanks Msparticus for suggesting the Coated Ambassadors. Then sound KILLER on the 12x8 tom. I am NOT a drum expert, but that tom sounds perfect to me. Even with the "tuning" I have done on it. I HAD to buy new heads for the top and bottom as the old ones were shot or missing.
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BEFORE
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/mweasel/ludwig/before.jpg[/IMG]
JUST AFTER PUTTING INTO VINEGAR
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/mweasel/ludwig/justputinvinegar.jpg[/IMG]
THE LEFTOVER RUST AFTER 24 HOURS
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/mweasel/ludwig/theleftoverrust.jpg[/IMG]
AFTER SOAKING FOR A BIT IN BAKING SODA TO NEUTRALIZE ACID
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/mweasel/ludwig/after.jpg[/IMG]