this very subject has been discussed at length on the DFO I don't know if it has here on the VDF, Mountainhick would be a good one to chime in here on this! from what I can remember about the subject, they said the PC changed the sound some, kinda comparing the present black galaxy coating to the older silver shelled models, the consensus was that it was a different sound. that was about it!

The sound will change ... for obvious reasons. Other than that, cool idea. A bud of mine did one a couple of years ago ... in pink - icky. It plays great. A bit drier and less ring. Not bad.

I did find one VDF member who had a Supra powder coating. I have sent him a PM on the subject. I'd still like to hear from anyone with opinions.

Thanks

Well, I have an 80's Acrolite and it has that weird gray painted "stuff" on it. I like the way it sounds.

We did one years ago in a vein finish. The drum was badly pitted..

I'll look for a pic....

This is the first of the factory powder coated Acrolites. For whatever reason, they decided to pc them at some point in the early 80s. That funky grey color is the clue to the era on the rounded B/O badges. Before that, they were anodyzed, and even before that they were bare aluminum alloy.

Well, I did it…had my lightly pitted 1967 Supraphonic shell (1st photo) powder coated in gloss black. This was a Supra I had purchased to “customize” with tube lugs and single flanged hoops to make it look like a 1920s snare. When I recently acquired a real 1921 All Metal Separate Tension snare this customized Supra kind of became superfluous. I thought of selling it but after watching Supras on ebay for a while I decided that I would never get the money out of it that I had spent so,.......might as well spend more and enjoy it…and am I glad I did!

I was surprised how hard the powder coating material is. All the hardware mounting holes were partially or completely filled in by the powder coat. Re-drilling them was like drilling though metal…really hard stuff. It’s also fairly thick; the heads are noticeably more snug, but not too tight.

I haven’t done a side-by-side sound comparison with my stock 1963 Supra yet. It would be hard to say whether any difference is attributable to the powder coating or the tube lugs, single flanged hoops and Fiberskyn head, probably all of the above. I have it tuned up fairly tight and it sounds great. Can't wait to actually gig with it.

Anyway, it may not be a “Legendary” Black Beauty, but it’s very black and it’s definitely a beauty! And, I’m very happy I decided to go with the powder coating.

A powder coating will muffle the shell's response some, making the sound a bit drier or less lively. Below are some photos of an abused orphan Acrolite shell I had coated to cover its multitude of scars...basically the same as a Supra shell, and the coating will work the same on both -- but keep in mind that any chrome plating on the Supra shell will have to be removed before powder coating.

GG & snowdog your snares are beautiful. Not to divert from the topic but I have an early model acrolite I picked up for 20 bucks. Its missing some lugs and I have been thinking about changing to tube lugs.

Will the tube lugs fit the exact holes of the the acrolite?

Thanks TOM