If it's wood under the paint it shouldn't be a problem at all - there are many noxious chemical paint strippers that do the job very effectively (don't live in the US so don't know the brand names).

You just need to make sure that you are in an extremely well-ventilated area, cover every bit of skin so this stuff get on you 'cause it stings (and continues to do so many hours after) if it gets on you. Make sure all holes on the shell are covered from the inside with masking tape (maybe even doubled-up) so you don't get "drip through" to the inside of the shell. Then paint the stripper on with an old brush. Let the stuff sit for a few hours, particularly if the paint is thick, then start taking it off with a metal or ideally rubber paint scraper (so you don't accidentally hack into the outside of the shell).

After that go over the surface with a slightly damp plastic sponge/scourer (using the scourer side) to get rid of the excess stuff. You will need a bit of water but not too much so it doesn't start seaping into the drums plies 'cause that would be bad.

And then use another similar sponge/scourer to go over the shell with a liberal (though not too liberal) dose of a spirit-based neutraliser (again, I'm useless on brand names) so that the stripper doesn't keep reacting with wrap, glue or lacquer or whatever else is going on to it at a later date (and it will if you don't neutralise and clean it off completely at this stage).

Then dry it off with paper towels or similar immediately after that process.

After it has dried (which shouldn't take long), then lightly sand it with 300 - 400 grade sandpaper to get rid of any remaining paint, stripper or anything else. If you are aiming to go for a wood finish later, going to an even finer sandpaper or even really fine steel wool after that should prep it nicely for lacquer.

I'm sure others in here might have more or alternative approaches to this, not to mention brands.

Cheers,

David

Due to the holes, depending on where they are and how big, you may opt for for repairs with dowels and a wrap. If you do this work yourself, great. If you want someone else to do it Matt Sinyard at Bonze Drum (google it) is meticulous but not the cheapest service provider in the world. You'll be excited by the end result.

I used this stuff http://www.readystripoutlet.com/ to successfully strip black enamel paint from an old Ludwig tom tom that someone had decided to "improve" themselves. It's NOT toxic!!! It worked well to get the brunt of the paint off....but the paint had soaked waaaay into the grain and therefore left paint "stains", so there was no way to get it all...but good enough for a re-paint or a re-wrap.Burger Kin

Thanks for all the replies!!

These are wrapped shells (kind of an orange or champaigne sparkle) so Ill have to proceed accordingly.

O-Lugs thanks for the link Im going to try that product.

Question is, how much do you think I should buy to strip a 1966 Ludwig 22 inch bassdrum?

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Well...I don't really remember how much I used when I did the tom tom because I had some left over in the large-size container from doing the woodwork on my interior doors...but, they DO sell it in small containers...so maybe you could get a few of the small size containers and then use what you need and then, if you have some un-opened containers, you could probably return them for refund or keep them around for future projects.

The stuff really does work and it's non-toxic, too.

If there's a wrap under the paint, ignore everything I wrote......

The paint stripper will NOT remove a wrapped finish! I'm sorry...I guess I didn't see that part until just now. Removing a wrap is an ENTIRELY different ball-game...one that you might not want to get into! It's very toxic and flammable to remove a wrap and the underlying glue...at least I wouldn't want to do it. The Ready-Strip will remove paint from a painted surface -As far as I know, it won't remove the wrap from a wrapped wooden shell, though! It might remove the paint from the wrap without damaging the wrap...but I don't know...my guess is that it would work, but that it might leave the wrap with a "haze" that would then need to be buffed out.

Ok this is getting out of hand!!!

To clarify...

Im removing flat black paint from a wrapped shell.

I am NOT removing the wrap, I want to save the wrap and hopefully make it look as best as possible (not new). Rewrapping the shells is NOT and option!

Whew!

With some work and a little luck I can get the paint off with the stripper and a dull putty knife, then buff them out.

Even though the bassdrum is not collectable (holes), Id like to get the drums to as close as original looking as possible with the acception of maybe using Gibralter gullwing spurs (the originals have proven difficult to find and might not be strong enough to withstand the rigors of gigging).

I hope I got that straight;)

Thanks again everyone-

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OK I think I've got it straight. I think you need to go to a hardware store and tell you need to strip paint of a plastic surface.

However I suspect (but do not know for a fact) that pretty much every current paint solvent will take your paint off but probably also part of your wrap - the solvent is pretty indiscriminate, it just likes dissolving stuff. There may be something so mild it won't dissolve the wrap, but it's probably pretty ineffective on the paint as well

Another more time-consuming process would be to get a stiff and thin plastic scraper and, starting under a hidden section such as a lug, just gently scrape at the paint and see how easily it comes off. If it's not incredibly difficult (like a plastic paint) you might find this is the way to go then finish off with three all three grades of Novus. However it's a wrap with slightly raised sections like the older glitters, scraping is obviously going to cut into it a bit.

That's my best shot....