Certainly is a "to each his own" preference. If you've had a kit whose wear and tear is a product of your own years of gigging with it - that's history and memories. I think many of us vintage lovers are also old school in our love and respect for our instruments, and keeping the appearance up is just what we've always done. Never a fan of the instrument abuse culture.

If you read my post, you'd had seen that I'm not talking about abused drums. I've seen too many drums that were not takin care of. Like all you guys, I take care of my gear, but if I happen to come across s a kit that I like that has some minor flaws such as fade or scratches here and there I'll grab them if the price is right. In fact, the majority of the kits I've owned have been what most would call players kits. I actually prefer those because I use them to gig and I kind of prefer kits that are a bit beat up, not abused, just used.

Sorry if I offended your sensibilities JR, but if you read my post, it was just an editorial comment to further illustrate the respect that we all have for our vintage instruments no matter the condition.

I'm not offended, why would I be? If you or anyone wants to spend hours polishing your drums, that's your business, it's just not something I feel the need to do. I don't even like changing heads or tuning them, but I do it when it needs to be done to keep the drums sounding good. I guess I'm more concerned with the sound of the drums than the appearance of the drums. That's not to say I'd take a beat up, crappy looking kit to a gig, but if the minor imperfections are not noticeable, why bother trying to make them look mint.