The feeling of thrill over a pile of sorry beat-up junk, that hides a diamond!

I'm sure you all know it. Well, that's how I'm feeling right now!

So, what do I have here?

- an incomplete 70s Amati pedal

- some tomholders and straight FT legs

- completely destroyed cymbal (wonder what brand. Looks to be quality bronze)

- yeah, we're getting there: Dixon 22" bass drum in fine condition and a 13" rack tom completely dipped in black paint and turned into a concert tom

- sorry and abused 60s Amati tom, also a victim of a thorough black paint job

AND

- an incredibly rare 14"x14" 3ply Amati floor tom!

Oh boy. I never even knew they made these. I once saw one for sale and dismissed it as an improperly measured 16x16!! It is, in fact a metric drum, 35x35cm, but with 14" hoops and some extra washers under lugs it can easily accomodate a 14" head.

It's missing most of its original nickel-plated HW and on top of being dipped in black paint in and out it has also been covered by a black contact paper.

BUT

under all that black, there is still an original wrap!! Looks to be yellow sparkle from the square milimeter of it that I can see now.

This restoration is going to be so much fun! It's really a rare piece, well worth buying all that other junk along.

First of all I'm going to slap some lugs on the reso side and try it with some decent heads.

Then - what is your advice on removing the darn paint without destroying the celluloid wrap underneath?

This may well be my find of the year!