Perhaps someone who is a professional conservator or archivist.

Very good Ploughman.

What a crime, hard to believe someone would paint the label, bad enough they are painting the shell to begin with but for crying out loud what would it take to mask off the label.

I have had some success removing stain off of a label using a cloth with a little lacquer thinner on it. I would just lightly touch it to soften the stain, dont wipe it or rub it, just touch it a few times to see if anything comes off the label and onto the rag. You might try it on the drum, just light touch then look at the cloth, if there is black on it then it is coming off. Do it again with a clean portion of the rag and try to get a little more off. Use a clean portion of the rag every time you touch it so you can see if its coming off. At some point you might start to see the letters and numbers start to bleed through, if you do then stop with the rag and start with a very fine paint brush and try to remove more paint around the lettering, a little at a time. Gonna take a steady hand and tons of patience. And, Im not saying it will work, just something to think about and possibly try. You might try it on a corner of the label with a Q-tip or something to see if the paint will lift off.

Good luck, let us know how you do.

Just a damn shame. I can't imagine any process that could bring them back to any passable shape. Paper is too porous and fragile. Unless there was a layer of clear-coat over the labels prior to the graffiti crime, reproduction labels may be your only option.

Good advice from Jeff..

No rubbing just dab at a small test area at a corner.. Also if you are using a solvent... start first with a much diluted with water mix.. and add more solvent to the water as/if required..

Cheers

John

Dan,

Did you manage to get the paint off? Just curious is all...

Cheers

Thanks for the hints on this guys, especially Jeff's given his expertise in wood finishing and so forth.

And as to weather or not I have done it yet, the answer is no. I've been busy building a screened-in porch. I'll probably get to the paint and labels in a couple weeks. Just a bit too busy right now and the paint doesn't seem to be affecting the sound of the drums. LoLoLoLo.

Will report back once I've had a go at it.