Blakrome was a steel wrap that had a black plating. All of the ones I've seen have not aged well, seem to scratch easily, & I don't think there's much one can do about it. I've seen them w/ gold tone hardware which lost a lot of color over time . They're nice if found when they were carefully handled, & cased up, but the ordinary rough handling of a gigster set would really take their toll on this finish. I would clean them up & keep them original no matter what they looked like.

Try some dedicated to car plastic polish. It usually removes/covers some light scratches. You can also use good car wax with close matching color.

Thanks for the responses! I'll try cleanng them up and get used to the scratches!

V182

Scratches, dings, & lost plating may seem unsightly to the drummer, who's sitting up close, but once one is more than 3 feet away , this set will look very cool to the audience.

I've never cleaned mine. Just wipe the dust away once in a while. They have a few spots in the plating but I've always used cases for transporting them to gigs. I was thinking about hitting some of the spots on the bottom with extra fine polishing compound. I don't know if that will scratch it or not, works well on painted surfaces. Maybe a good coat of turtle wax.

The back of my floor tom is the worst of the lot, but I'm the only one who sees it. The finish is very fragile, so I case them and wear gloves while handling them.

Nicks and scratches are visible up close, but they look spectacular under lights from 15 feet away.

You can always apply scratch repair pen on 'em like this one:

http://www.turtlewax.com/product-detail.aspx?prodid=123

Here's an example of my drums. The drums all have minor scratches that can't be seen in the photo, but notice how the wall of the bar is reflected in the bass drum and how the left leg is reflected in the snare. I love blackrome!

BTW, this isn't me playing, but my friend Bruce, who is equally superb as a drummer and guitarist. He also owns a sweet 1964 Ludwig BOP.

[IMG]http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/9/7/0/600_93647472.jpeg[/IMG]

I just finished getting this together. Blakrome Slingerlands.

Originally a 51N Super Rock outfit 13/14/18/24, I found a 16 inch floor tom to match in great shape so I did this 1 up 2 down setup for fun. I also have an 8 x 10 power tom (not pictured). It's going to be fun playing all the different configurations of this kit. I'll post more pictures as I get them. My first Slingerland kit.. loving these. They sound huge but my first impression is how well made the drums are. The wrap is pretty good all around with the exception of the kick drum, it's pretty beat.