Why don't you clean them up the best you can as they are and make some pics for us. Then you can really see what you have to work with. I never thought I would like a black set but when I did run across my black Rogers set and really cleaned it up the chrome and black looked great and classy, you will be surprised how that nickel will pop against that black. Looks like you need a front bass hoop and bottom hoops for the toms. Once they are cleaned you could even polish them with some black kiwi shoe polish and buff them. You might be surprised.

Folks - I finally got around to working on these Clubdates. I have some questions and hope you can offer some advice. Here's the original condition.

I tried cleaning up the hardware but found quite a bit of rust that I had trouble removing, so all the hardware spent a day in an Oxalic acid bath. It came out nice and shiny.

When removing the paint, I found a thick, gray primer underneath. I was able to remove it from some of the drums, but it was particularly hard to remove on the two small toms.

Question: does anyone have experience removing this type of primer? I have been through multiple passes with Klean Strip stripper, and I am still having trouble removing it. The gray color seems to have penetrated the wood grain.

I could try sanding it out. I was hoping to refinish these drums with a stain, along the lines of Yamaha's Vintage Natural color (I know, it's not traditional, but I think it would look great!) As it stands, I may need to just repaint them in the original black.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Tom

Here's the stripping...

And my progress so far...