Ludwig 60's restoration project - Page 1

Thanks for the kind posts.

I bought the kick and snare at an auction. When I went to pick them up and saw how bad they were (now that the excitement had passed), I felt a bit stupid. It was obvious that they had been in a semi-exposed location for a long time. (I think a verandah) The 12" tom came from ebay and was not too bad really. Also it was very close in age. All the drums are early 60's.

Restoration was like this:

It would be a 'players' kit. I would keep the drums (I'd never owned a Ludwig kit). Forget mint restoration (obvious really). I just wanted to hear them and enjoy playing them. Accepting this was key to the project.

Then, I stripped the shells. Cleaned the shells and wrap with detergent first, then superfine auto restorer.

Divvy up the hardware into 2 piles:

a) trashed and really gnarly. Beyond mortal help.

b) pitted (hell - it was all pitted) but sort of sound - not corroded through.

All parts were soaked in a rust remover called RAINEX for varying lengths of time. This is an Aussie brand but the USA invented the stuff. It's all phosphate of some kind as far as I know. Some pieces came out like new.

Pile a) I then went at this lot with a wire brush, steel wool, whatever. You might be wincing, but I was extremely patient and the pieces were totally wrecked. I used dry steel wool a lot. It polishes, but obviously it's harsh. Some have little chrome left but they all work fine. This pile are all candidates for future replacement with vintage parts. The worst were the 16" hoops - they were so rusty that the metal had bubbles.

Pile b) Used a nylon brush and metal polish. This includes rims, rods, small pieces and the consolette.

I bought some missing parts from eBay (a few claws and tees) and I stripped and painted the hoops with about 12 coats of black then put the inlays back. Two holes in the kick I patched by drilling them out to the nearest dowel size; then taking pictures of the wrap, printing them on photo paper and finding the best match for the holes and cutting them out. Then I stuck these circles onto the dowels, glued them into the holes and coated them with clear glue. I could do better next time (don't touch the paper so much) but it worked ok.

I am looking for a snare now. I love playing this kit and I am just pleased that years from now, other musicians will enjoy them too. They sound great (especially the kick) and I'm just really happy that I took the time and risked a bit of cash to bring them back.