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Ludwig Spray Paint Nightmare Kit

Posts: 373 Threads: 56

I got this kit at a music shop in WI recently. It's a 70's Ludwig 24/12/13/14/16/18 that somebody was nice enough to spray paint black. They did it inside and out, and also the hoops. Oh, and most of the badges are missing. Awesome. I debated for a while if I should wrap it or veneer it with bubinga. I was leaning towards the veneer, and decided to start by stripping 1 tom and finishing the mahogany shell. It might look good enough to keep that way, but it will at least give me a better idea of what direction to go. I started today, here are some before pictures:

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0642.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0645.jpg[/IMG]

Partially stripped tom:

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0647.jpg[/IMG]

You get the idea, they're spray painted.

Posted on 13 years ago
#1
Posts: 373 Threads: 56

Here is the progress so far:

After stripping/sanding:

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0696.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0698.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0700.jpg[/IMG]

After 1 coat of Minwax Wipe-on Poly:

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0707.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0704.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0703.jpg[/IMG]

Not bad so far. The outer ply has a lot of vertical scratch marks (probably from some pre-paint sanding). I couldn't get them all out due to fear of sanding through the ply. The interior still has a slight pinkish hue from the white and red primer that was under the black paint. We'll see how everything looks after 5-6 more coats of poly.

Posted on 13 years ago
#2
Posts: 776 Threads: 114

Looks nice, and a lot of hard work. I have a Gretsch snare drum that was spray painted black over midnight sparkle and a set of Rogers XP8s that were spray painted black over tobacco sunburst. The Gretsch drum i finished by the ROgers have a veerrrry long way to go!

[IMG]https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/39646_444250097436_322005447436_5996908_5692574_n.jpg[/IMG]

Posted on 13 years ago
#3
Posts: 2197 Threads: 202

Those Ludwigs are going to look and sound excellent!They always appreciate being brought back from the dead....

Posted on 13 years ago
#4
Posts: 373 Threads: 56

Wow, that turned out great. I wish this kit had wrap under the paint, but they took it off before painting.

Posted on 13 years ago
#5
Posts: 9005 Threads: 266

Bubinga, bubinga, bubinga! Group Hug

BTW, that's a really sweet 3-ply Maple/Poplar/Mahogany lay-up. The drums will sound excellent regardless of which finish you choose to go with. I'm just a sucker for natural wood finishes so I'm going to vote that way every time out of personal preference. But bubinga would really look cool beans man.

John

Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm
Posted on 13 years ago
#6
Posts: 373 Threads: 56

From Purdie Shuffle

Bubinga, bubinga, bubinga! Group HugBTW, that's a really sweet 3-ply Maple/Poplar/Mahogany lay-up. The drums will sound excellent regardless of which finish you choose to go with. I'm just a sucker for natural wood finishes so I'm going to vote that way every time out of personal preference. But bubinga would really look cool beans man.John

Yeah, it really would. And if I veneered them, I could just granitone the inside and veneer right over the outside paint. No more paint stripping that way.

Here is the third coat (still wet), it's starting to build pretty well:

[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0708.jpg[/IMG]

Posted on 13 years ago
#7
Posts: 9005 Threads: 266

Granitone? The rock maple inside that shell is gorgeous. Why on earth would you want to cover that up - with paint? Natural wood outside, natural wood inside... let that shell vibrate and sing!

John

Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm
Posted on 13 years ago
#8
Posts: 373 Threads: 56

This one is maple inside after about 4 hours of stripping and sanding. The other 5 much larger drums are still covered in black paint inside and out. I wouldn't paint over clear maple, but I'm considering painting granitone over the black instead of stripping the other drums.

This drum probably won't end up with this kit. It's sort of a practice drum to see what I want to do with the others.

Posted on 13 years ago
#9
Posts: 9005 Threads: 266

Potsy - Sears sells a spray stripper that will literally melt all the paint off the shell. I spray it on, wait fifteen minutes till it all bubbles up, and I just scrape off all the goop with a plastic putty knife. Leaves clean wood showing every time. Fast and easy. Why add 'another' layer of paint to the shell? At some point, all that paint will start to inhibit the sound produced by the shell. The spray stripper will take all the work out of it. Try it on one drum.

John

Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm
Posted on 13 years ago
#10
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