Looking for opinions on the two traditional methods of drum wrap attaching when re-wrapping a drum. I've used them both, with greater success towards gluing the wrap to the shell. I've used the tape method twice and both times ended up having to "fix" the seams by gluing as the tape didn't hold long term. I've used the gluing method for years and have only had a couple of longterm failures due to the type of contact cement used. I used to use DAP Wildwood contact cement and used acetone on the seams to "melt" the seam together. Well....long term it turns out the glue fails.....this is after about 12-15 years of course. Now I use the 3M water based adhesive tha Precision Drum recommends. Been using it for about 5 years now with zero problems.....time will tell on how long it lasts past the 5 years.
Tape vs Glue for re-wraps
The reason I bring this up is that I spent yesterday fixing one of my kits that I've stored for a while unused after rewrapping. I used the tape method as advised by JamminSam, the place where I purchased the wrap. Well......the tape didn't hold up. All the seams were lifting and would not stay down. So.....off came the hardware, off came the tape, and on went the 3M contact cement. All appears to be well now.....in the back of my mind I knew I should have done it the way I always do. In the past I did one other kit for a customer using the tape method at their request, and within 3 months it failed. I ended up using contact cement on the seams only to fix the issue and it seems to be holding up fine 2 years later. The customer insisted he wanted the ability to change the wrap down the road, this was the reasoning to the tape metod in his mind. Well....its been 2 years, he's still happy with the end result and probably will never end up rewrapping the drums again, but he insisted no glue on the shells, so we compromised. He let me go ahead and glue the seams only.....so far no failures like I said, but I wouldn't recommend this method to anyone else as its not a professional job in my mind.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]l had the same experience with Sam's tape stuff - started lifting. End of that. l do glue with hi-bond red tape (drummaker.com) at the seams only.[/COLOR]
I too use the 3M water based glue from precision drums and have no problems with it i have never tried the tape but just figured glue it down and be done with it..
Have any of you guys had problems using glue and the wrap shrinking?
No I can't say I have. Although, I have only done wraps that seem to be made of pvc rather than the older style celluloid or acetate (pyrolin). 95% of all wraps made today are made of pvc now so shrinkage is not usualy an issue.
I was thinking about using the Jaminsam wrap and tape too, not so sure now,
even though Jaminsam says the new seam tapes are much better than in previous years...
I have not done either method, but, in theory, the tape method presents some problems that might not be readily apparent.
First off, the tape method leaves "gaps" in between the sections that are not taped. essentially, these air gaps act as buffers and actually (in theory) mute some of the resonance of the shell.
The spaces that the tape method creates are also more prone to creating uneven temperature changes that can add to the tape lifting and separating.
-food for thought!
If you have to rewrap, then I think the best method is to strip off the old wrap and use the glue -the good stuff!
"Nietzsche is dead." -God
Has anyone tried the DAP water based contact cement yet?
I have 1 tom to recover in silver sparkle and do not want to buy gallons of cement or miles of tape that I won't use again.
Still waiting for a wrap quote from Precision, Jamminsam price is $46 just for the wrap, plus tape and shipping($14!!) Holy crap!
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