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Restoring a 1920s SuperLudwig

Posts: 442 Threads: 102

Hi there.

My "new" drum arrived from the States today, and i am greatly excited Mallet Player2 .

i posted some pics, that i took before and while i started unscrewing it. the only thing i didn't take off the shell is the throw-off, cause i am afraid to break it. :-)

some questions:

- i surely want to get the shell as clean and shiny as possible. any ideas? i thought i am going to use a polishing device that you put on an "electr. screwer" (i know i have to be careful cause nickle is not as steady as chrome) and a chrome/metal polishing fluid. might that work?

- the drum has the crimped snare beds, and, what i have never seen before: the bearing edges that are in great shape btw, are "solid" inside the drum, meaning that they are not just bent inwards but look to be "cast" (right word? don't know), maybe it's possible to see on the pics.

this looks like a promising project, and i can't wait to get all that rust off the drum and put it back together :-)

Posted on 15 years ago
#1
Posts: 1190 Threads: 86

The only part on your drum with rust is that bracket on the throw off.

(That's the only part that's steel...except the tension rods...)

I would remove that part and soak it in "Dawn" dish soap (50% water 50% Dawn) or something similar. Then polish that part with "Noxon" or a similar chrome polish.

The rest of the drum (shell, lugs, hoops and throw off parts) will shine like chrome if you use "cape Cod" polishing cloths"...I haven't found anything better for nickel.

Don't use an electric buffer or anything similar...it could do more damage than good.

These nickel over bras drums were funky when I got them...I just used cape cod polishing cloths on them...

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Posted on 15 years ago
#2
Posts: 442 Threads: 102

thanks for the reply! what's so special about those CAPE COD cloths? not sure if i get those in Germany, so i might have to find s.th. similar....

so you propose NOT to use the electric buffer (lambwool) device that i have?!?!

Posted on 15 years ago
#3
Posts: 741 Threads: 53

Nice project. I wouldn't use a power buffer on that drum. The nickel doesn't look that bad so hand polishing should bring it back to life pretty quickly and easily. Keep us posted and take lots of pictures.

Vintage Snares Vintage Kits
Posted on 15 years ago
#4
Posts: 1064 Threads: 152

Great looking snare. Have fun with the project.


Recent Purchases
-1961 SBP Pioneer Snare Drum
-1962 SBP Super Classic w/ Matching COB Supra

Working On
-1963 Red Sparkle Hollywood w/ matching Super Classic Snare

Recently Completed
-1964 WMP Super Classic
Posted on 15 years ago
#5
Posts: 2628 Threads: 40

[COLOR="DarkRed"]You never wanna take any sort of electric buffing apparatus to vintage metal...whether it be a drum, a sax, a cymbal. mechanical buffing doesn't just CLEAN, it actually removes metal. You can mess up the shell badly...regardless of whether the attachment contains any rouge compounds or not.

Use your hands. ;)

[/COLOR]

www.2ndending.com
Posted on 15 years ago
#6
Posts: 442 Threads: 102

ok. i thought an electr. thing might be a bad idea ;-)

what about NEVR DULL for the shell and parts??? any experience?? i haven't started on the shell yet, it looks like it is not only dirty, but some of the "dirt" looks like rust (i know it's not) but it looks like the nickle has that kinda wear.... i guess that won't come off.

used some very fine steel wool on the hoops and lugs cause they had similar wear, didnt all come of, but i don't wanna use steel wool on the shell, thats for sure...

Posted on 15 years ago
#7
Posts: 442 Threads: 102

saying that, after cleaning the rims, it looks like the dirt has worked its way into the nickle. the rims do shine after polishing, but there still a lot of signs of dirt. guess that complements to the age of the drum though... Burger Kin

Posted on 15 years ago
#8
Posts: 202 Threads: 3

NeverDull, oddly, seems to work great for chromed or nickeled hardware (lugs and such) but badly for shell surfaces itself.

A suggestion: get a treated silver-polishing cloth. These are usually soft fabric which have some very mild polishing powder imbibed in them. The kind to polish sliverplate tea kettles and...medieval goblets...and such.Cooked Egg

TRY it on a section of rim and see if it improves it. If not, then it won't work on the shell.

If so, TRY it on a small area of shell and see if that helps.

Silver cloths are the least abrasive of all polishing cloths since silverplate shows up scratches much more than brass or bronze.

Posted on 15 years ago
#9
Posts: 442 Threads: 102

so... there i am...

drum is cleaned and polished, and put back together. the nickle was actually worn a bit, and after i cleaned the shell i could actually see some brass coming through. so, i just gently polished the shell, and im still proud of it.

i'll post pictures soon.

now there comes the next problem, i put on new puresound snare wires, so the drum is playable. the problem now is, that i can't make the wires sound and work right. i have the same wires on a 1966 SS snare, and they work great. i don't know what's wrong... when i turn the snares "on", they still don't produce tension against the resonant head, although it's not possible to tighten them more... any suggestions or people that have had similar problems...?

Posted on 15 years ago
#10
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