When I restored the hoops on my black panthers, I used Rustoleum satin black......it was in a small spray can, not the usual large rustoleum can we all know....I think it was for wood/furniture/crafts.....anyway, I got it at home depot. As far as the inlays, I didn't glue them at all, I did the same as the factory.....got them as tight as I could get them and just used a regular staple gun.

I agree with L-D on the Rustoleum....Recently, I did a repair on a Ludwig hoop and had to touch up the area with paint afterwards.....I had a hard time finding the area I repaired after the hoop was dry...The paint matched almost perfectly!!!

Cheers

Not saying this is the best or only way, but here's how I've done it with my Ludwig hoops. I think I have been getting extremely close to original results (albeit a bit time-consuming):

1. Strip what's left of the old paint with CitriStrip

2. Used my little mouse sander to smooth out the dings

3. Use plastic wood for any bigger gauges & sand

4. Grey spray primer (I used Krylon, but I'm sure any would do)

5. 2 coats of Flat Black, sanding with #0000 between coats

6. "Several" light coats (like 5 or so) of Gloss Black Spray Lacquer (Ace Hardware brand). It will look really bad when you first spray the lacquer, but the key is using #0000 steel wool between coats to dull the lacquer out. Make sure the coats go on light, be patient. I repeat coats and steel wool until I get a luster that matches the other hoop with the original finish still on. Repeat process on the other hoop until they match.

Don't forget to get the burrs off with a tack cloth after using the steel wool!

For the inlays, I have used "Lawn & Garden Epoxy" on past projects (I think it's the same thing as JB Weld). I haven't tried a staple gun yet, but the epoxy just seems like an easier way though others may disagree. Maybe I'll try the staple next time I need to redo an inlay. The most recent hoops I restored did not need new inlays. I just taped the inlay with painters' tape and an exacto knife.

I will post photos of my most recent finished hoops later when I get home. For now, I just have one photo I took during one of the early black lacquer coats (I think). I wanted to show this pic because: Remember those oh-so-crapola Ludwig stands from the 90s, hmm? Well, everything seems to have its function...

I guess I had a bit of a cavalier attitude towards getting them done and roadable, but on my last ones I did I used plain old Rustoleum gloss black, hung 'em on a tree branch and sprayed away. Then, since the kit I was restoring was white cortex, I got some of the correct width white electrical tape and used that for the ring. Works and looks perfect for a player kit.

As promised, before-and-after photos of my recent Ludwig 24" hoop project using the process described above (plus hours of polishing hardware and wrap-- the rest of the kit is in-process, 13-14-16-18 and 6.5 Supra)