Wow Gary, those look SWEET~! Clapping Happy2 Really nice job he's doing and the color looks fantastic too!! I think he nailed it perfectly. Can't wait to see them back together. BTW what kind of curing time does it require before you can assemble them?

Thanks,

Good point regarding the curing time. I will make sure I ask that question when I pick them up. I know when I refinished my conga drums I was told to wait about 7-10 days before the final buffing and assembley of the hardware.

If that's the case here - it's going to be tough to sit there and stare at the drums without putting the hardware on. But I will have to dicipline myself - I don't want to ruin the paint job that's for sure.

Just found this:

The finish must be completely cured before it can be rubbed out. Rubbing a finish before it is cured will produce an uneven scratch pattern, resulting in an uneven sheen. A good rule of thumb is to wait a month before you rub out the finish.

Picked the drums up.....paid the $350....seems like a spectacular deal......for me.

Pix to come.....

Had a chance to look at the shell closely and I would say the paint mixer upper guy got the paint pretty close to my original Cadillac Green 9x13 tom here. The painter said it's okay to put the hardware on now if I want. I will let them cure for a few days - maybe a week or so....maybe put a coat or two of Carnauba Wax on them too before putting the hardware on for another test run before gold plating.

Please excuse the setting. My living room is torn apart - installing a new floor and painting.

That's a really good match. Good price too!!

Damn good match, but Kona, You`re gonna have to get those inlay`s leafed !! It don`t work with the sparkle !!

When you overlap an inlay, (bad idea) you get a double thickness,...scarf joint it, but not too extreme, that way the leaf wont show seam !!

Thanks - yes the match is pretty close. As far as the Gold Sparkle hoops go I'm pretty sure that's what Gretsch used back in the day. That's what I've seen on most of the old drums.

Until they came back from paint,..I thought that would work,...it don`t !! That great Gretsch sound, didn`t include that great Gretsch look !!

Just an opinion,..under any light conditions,...it will always look off lot, so to speak !!