I have found that old old old glue doesn't hold tight. You "may" be able to just pop it off very very slowly and carefully. I wouldn't apply heat unless absolutely necessary. You could actually make more of a mess. Just a thought. I realize this is contradictory to what most do, but this is my experience only. I've never ever ever had a problem with popping wrap off of really old drums over the years. Again, my experience.

I have an old 20" slingy floor tom, dont know how old it is, buy once i got the edge of the wrap loose it almost fell off of the drum.

I would not use a heat gun. I have always used a hair dryer to limit and more evenly distribute the heat. It is sufficient to soften the glue. The heat gun could do some damage.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I am gonna be contrary here: if you don't care about saving the wrap, go with the heat gun. I use a paint-stripping heat gun.

Just heat it to a point where the glue liquifies beneath, and it pulls off like old tape. Go slowly, and heat evenly across the seam. The job goes relatively quickly and the shell remains intact.

You then have to let the glue residue on the naked shell cool down for half a day if your intent is to sand it off.

If your intent is to remove the residue with acetone (my preferred method) then you can go at it right after removing the wrap, using a scraper, too. Mask the drill holes from the inside so the acetone doesn't run into the interior of the shell.

I would not just try to pull and coax off a vintage wrap sans heat...you run a high risk of taking up exterior ply with it. I also HAVE had some shells where the glue was so brittle it just came up no problem, no heat, no chemicals req'd. But they haven't been the norm.[/COLOR]

Thanks for all the prompt replies guys ;)

After reading your responses and some deliberations, I've decided to try it with the heat and see what happens. I'm not intending to save the old wrap as it's badly damaged anyway.

I hadn't considered acetone to remove the old glue. I was just gonna sand it off but acetone would probably make the job go a little quicker.

Anyway, thanks again for the info...now to get working on these shells Cool1

Cuttle

On most of these old drums, there is no need to try and heat this glue. It has lost most of it's bond and, as previously posted, heating might cause more of a problem by "re-activating" the glue.

Just peel it off carefully and it will probably be a two or three minute job.

I agree with the acetone recommendation. The old glue that remains on the shell can be a bugger to remove and acetone works pretty well (along with judicious scraping and mild brushing).

Good luck!

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I just dunno about that...old glue losing it's bond ? I've stripped over 300 shells, and in my experience, it's RARE that old wrap glue has lost it's bond. Seriously, I can remember maybe a dozen of those 300 or so which came up easy, just peeled off...and half of those were Japanese '60's and '70's kits.

Old WFL, Ludiwg, Slingy, Premier, Rogers...and the bear of bears...Kent....I have had nightmars about those xperiences. Am currently fighting to get a gloss black wrap off of a Rogers Cleveland bass drum. It's original, and is hanging on for dear life....

Which depresses me because the VERY NEXT kit I have to unwrap is...you guessed it...ANOTHER Rogers Cleveland in black gloss.....

But...start with the gun... and if it acquiesces...you got lucky....[/COLOR]

If you've done 300 then I would defer to you. I've done a bit over 75. You would know better than me. I will say that most all of mine have been Luddy, though. I can't recall doing any Japanese drums. I also have never done a Rogers or a Kent. So, you definitely got me there. But the Luddy drums I've done have been a cinch to unwrap. The wrap just pretty much fell off. Mine have been blessed. I didn't have to work. Woo-Hoo!!!

I've done a half dozen or so shells with a heat gun, all old Slingerlands. Keep the gun moving and don't let it focus on one spot, I know, I set a gold sparkle wrap on an old marching snare on fire. Keep some water or a wet towel handy just in case. I had another wrap which seemed loose and in peeling it off, the wrap took some small chunks of the outer plys of mahogany with it. Mahogany seems more brittle than maple on an outer ply.

I found Ace Adhesive Remover from Ace Hardware easy to use for removing glue, a bit less nasty than acetone, wear gloves with either and work outside or in a well ventilated area.

On one of the restorer sites, [I cannot remember which or where because I'd really like to credit whoever had the idea] someone used Play Doh to fill holes in the shell to prevent stripper from leaking into the shell. I tried it, the Play Doh when dry kept the Ace remover out of the inside and was easy to pop out of the hole when the stripping was complete, a very cool technique.

So just screw up the courage and go for it.

Regards

Don