Thanks to all for the kind words.
Yes, I am very happy with the kit as it is now.
One more word:
I have started using double-sided tape instead of contact glue. Not messy, not poisonous. Use a good one like 3M 9088.
Only thing is, with hefty coatings like this, you will have to glue the overlap - the tape won´t do it alone, even with help of the lugs.
Jon
Jon,
Thank you so much for the detailed post. I have an early 70's Premier kit in Aquamarine sparkle which is a very difficult wrap to find in any kind of decent condition. The kit is special to me as it is identical in every way to my first kit.
The snare is in like new condition with no fade whatsoever. The 12" and 16" are in really good condition with only a very minor amount of fade. The kick drum, however, is moderately faded and the wrap is cracked on the lower right side. I am really trying to decide whether or not to re-wrap the kick, The grommet question has been one that has been stumping me as those small Premier grommets are not to be found here. Regardless, your detailed post is extremely helpful. Great job on your kit!
The small grommets are unique to Premier, I think, and I have substituted larger ones.
I didn´t care - originality was lost with the re-wrap anyway, and the 10 mm ones still look good.
However, if you want to keep the small ones, it is absolutely possible.
Take them out by drilling on the inside with maybe a 8 mm drill. Make sure that the grommet doesn´t rotate, it is possible to hold it still by pressing a small piece of wood against on the outside.
Then, after re-coating the shell, just glue the badge on with doublesided tape (I do it anyway, to make sure they don´t buzz) and glue the rest of the old grommet in place with epoxy or whatever.
Good luck with the work - maybe I would advise you to rewrap orphans or a kit with a really destroyed, boring wrap instead of your somewhat faded but still undoubtedly attractive Aquas?
Regards
Jon
Jon,
I am pretty sure that most on this forum would agree that I should leave them alone. The kit really does look pretty great. That is probably the route I will take but it is still tempting to fix up that kick! Ahh, but then I'd decide the kick looks better than the toms, so more re-wrapping and that would truly be a shame; especially if it got to the point of re-wrapping the pristine snare. At that point I would be excommunicated from the forum entirely and I would miss you guys.
By the way, great tip on re-using the grommet.
Jon,
Wow, yeah, I am a bit late commenting here - I found this post off of the thread about cracking Premier wrap common on the top of the BD. Myself, I have a bunch of MIJs (4) and I have to say here that your kit here is gorgeous! I am also in the process of building some 10 inch add-ons for 2 of my MIJs. One is Gold Glass Glitter and the other is Red Onyx. I will post pics once these projects are done. I have alot of drums and for someone who has as many as I do, I have posted very few pics of my drums. For example, I have a very sharp Anaheim Orange Ddrum Maple Dominion but I am not sure I should ever show those here! They are very much not "vintage" and while they are great sounding and great looking maples, they are Asian made.
Anyway, nice nice Premiers (I used to have the very classy Rosewood Lacquered XPKs from 1998) and your 10 inch add-ons here reminded me of my own projects. I wonder how many guys on here have added 10 inchers to their MIJs. I have not seen it at all other than your (non-American) kit here.
John
