Hi wads - Sometimes the yellowing on finishes like WMP is coming from the inside out. (Glue interacting with wrap.) Other times, the yellowing is caused by environmental factors, smoking, sun-fading, etc. If it's surface yellowing, (easy to tell because it's smelly and sticky/tacky,) it can be cleaned off. If it's coming from the inside, out, then no amount of sanding is going to get rid of it. The yellow permeates the wrap material from the bottom/up.

Unless you know what you're doing, I don't recommend sanding any wrap.

Plenty of good wrap cleaners around, the Novus products, Maguiers, Mothers, etc. Do a little homework, I'm sure you'll get plenty of recommendations from the members here.

Good luck with your project...

John

While I have no idea about wet sanding I would be willing to bet that the engraving goes through at least the top layer of the wrap. If that is true, the. You would pretty much ruin the wrap by the time you get the inscription out. I may very well be wrong, but you would not have to engrave deep at all to go through that top layer.

Maybe the engraving will just be part of this drum's charm and history?

While not ideal the engraving is kinda cool. I think once you polish the shell it'll blend in a bit more. You can always scrub inside the letters a bit with a old toothbrush and a little soap/water if there's dirt grime inside them. Neat shell.