Re-Finishing My Kit

[BrianW]

Ive been wanting to do this for a while and after reading another thread about it i decided to finally go for it. I started Wednesday morning (skipped school) i got all the shells torn down and sanded. And applied the first coat of stain. I finished the second coat thrusday night. Then i skipped school again today (friday) to finish assembly. I think they turned out great.
I took pics throughout the whole process. So let me run you through what i did. (there are lots of pics, might take a minute to load).

My set is a 97'ish Pearl Export. Sizes are 12, 13, 16, and 22. They had a red wrap.
Started out by removing the hardware from each drum.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000168.jpg
Used cups to hold the hardware just to make sure nothing got lost.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000175.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000180.jpg
With the hardware off i used a razer blade to peal up the wrap from the shell. Make sure you dont just pull it off or some of the wood will come with it.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000182.jpg
Like what happened here. You need to slowly pull up while you push the blade between the glue and shell. Take your time, its not worth a blemish like this one.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000183.jpg
The wrap halfway removed. Make sure you remove the glue from the shell as best you can. I tried many ways of removing it and nothing worked perfect. The best thing i had going was to apply some goo gone with a rag, wait a few minutes and rub the glue off with my thumb. I think im missing part of my finger print after 4 shells.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000188.jpg
All four shells stripped and sanded with 220grit sand paper.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000190.jpg
The aftermath of the wraps.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000191.jpg
I used two cymbal stands (with attachments) and a long steel pipe (with a towel wrapped around it) to hold the cymbals while i stained them. This made it very easy to rotate and there was no chance of dirt getting on them.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000194.jpg
I used a mahogany stain (forget the name) but it had the stain and sealer in one. Here is a shell with one coat and one with nothing.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000196.jpg
All four shells with one coat of stain.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000198.jpg
Broken drumsticks makes a great stirer.

Six hours dry time.....

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000200.jpg
Halfway through the second coat.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000204.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000206.jpg
Second coat all done.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000210.jpg
Start putting the hardware back on. Luckly I didnt have any missing or left over peices.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000213.jpg
First drum all finished.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000214.jpg
All the drums with hardware. I plan on ordering wood hoops for the bd soon. But a friend said he likes the black more, what do you think. Mathing hoops, or stick with these.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000217.jpg

My complete set, all put back together.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000005.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/BrianWarner/P1000219.jpg
A little before-after for ya.

Im super happy with the result i got from this. Completly worth the time and effort...and missing some schoolwork.
The drums sound better than they used to also.
Let me know what you think and feel free to ask questions.

[Drummer Karl]

It looks sooooo nice now!!!
Great work, this red wrap was awful ;) Very nice, I love the finish...Is there a difference in sound now?

Karl

[countaferfer]

Very nice!
Mine will be posted shortly.
I did pretty much the same thing, except with my rockstars.
I had one problem wiht mine though.
I think a previous owner had left it in a REALLY hot place (I live in Texas, so storage without air conditioning can be like 160 degrees F), and the glue under the top layer on soem of my sheels dried out, making those "blemishes" unavoidable.
I think it actually looks better the way it is though......
good work! Keep it up!

[NYdrummerdude]

beautiful job dude i love the finish it looks outstanding awsome work

o yea nice tv too

[russcat]

Dude that is freakin sweet.I love it!

[Class A Drummer]

Wow that looks a hell of a lot better. i doubt i will ever want a new finish on mine though. but if i do i will probably do it somthing like yours.

[Mdrummer]

Great job man, they look so much better and more professional now!
I have one question,
did you cut or something those long lugs, becouse they are small now?

My drums:http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9997

My playing:http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10928

[RamboKnife]

Did you put a clear coat of sealer on the drums?

[figure_02]

That looks so good! They look more like Masters than Exports now :P

[Harakirie]

good job dude they look so much better than what i made outof mine :P

[DrumProgressive]

Very interesting project, i think it really increases the value of your kit.
Good amp too btw, my guitarist uses the same one.

[NUTHA JASON]

great result.

thanks for the great post/thread...its encouraging for everyone to see this so they feel a bit braver when it is their turn to something like it.

j

[Audun_D]

You've done a awsome job. I'm doin it with my old Forum kit.

[mrs.wega]

Great job!
I know you have put a lot of work into this, you see I helped my boyfriend when he got his kit painted. Though he didn't paint it himself, it was a lot of work just to remowe the hardware, and put it back again..
Your drums look so nice now, really beautiful..!

[pete_on_drums]

beautiful job dude i love the finish it looks outstanding awsome work

o yea nice tv too
your tellin me thats a TV!
i thought it was a mirror!, its huge!!!
anyway, very nicely done, i think it looks much better without it!
nice!

[Drummerboy3940]

How many hours did it take to do? Im interested in doing this but I dont have a lot of time. They look beautiful!

[danielheier]

wow, beautiful work my friend, that is an amazing difference. Congrats!

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Nice. There's just something about the natural finish isn't there? Also see you've eliminated those long lugs, they never looked all that great to me and just bring back bad memories of badly maintained Exports. Yours is excellent though. Great stuff! And may I suggest the wooden hoops. Ash hoops are where it's at for me! As long as you can find a supplier though, that could be tricky.

[BrianW]

How many hours did it take to do? Im interested in doing this but I dont have a lot of time. They look beautiful!
Thanks for kind words, everyone. From start to finish it probably took about 12 hours. (not including the six hour dry time). Id say the first break down, sand, and stain took six hours. The second stain took about 2 hours. And it took about anoter 4 hours to put they back together.

They do sound a lot better. I still have to tune them precisly, kinda just threw the heads on because i had band practice the night i finished them.

[Wegadrummer]

Ey BrianW.. did the same thing with my kit some months ago.. :) nice kit, cool colour.. I can see if i find some picture of my kit..

[Wegadrummer]

Here is some picture.. I did the same thing as you did but I got a car painter to paint my drums..

[gr82bagn]

Your drums look great refinished. I did the same thing last year with an old Slingerland kit, originally had the chrome finish which was glued throughout not just at the seams. It took a while just to get the old wrap off without killing the shell but it was worth it. Enjoy.

[WeatherKing]

Great job Brian! Thank you so much for posting. This is definately inspiring me to do the same to my Tama Swingstars. One of the wraps is starting to peel off so I might as well finish it off. My wife is actually giving me color suggestions...a nice family project now! Mahogany was a superb choice! I really think the black hoops on the kick make it look more distinguished. Try more black hardware! I think it would add more contrast rather than risking overdoing it with wood hoops...IMO. The picture tutorial was laid out very nicely and flowed well. How many Cup O Noodles did you go through?

[Royman27]

I'm thinking about doing this to my Gretsch Catalina Birch in Vintage Burst. I'm getting kinda tired of the 2 colored thing and I want to stick to a solid color, but how would I go along in doing this project? How would I remove the badges, and how would I start removing the laquer? I'm also wondering what type of stain I should use, one that's has a sealer mixed in it, or one that comes seperate? Also, if I were to color my lugs and mounts black, would I need to poweder coat it?

[Pedey]

Looks fantastic! I want to do taht to my kit in the next school holidays, but i'm scared i'll screw it up, is it easy?

[Drummerboy3940]

Here is some picture.. I did the same thing as you did but I got a car painter to paint my drums..

How much was it to get it painted?

[Bluewolf]

I like the stain you picked a lot. The black hoop looks good, but if you get wood hoops then get a natural finish on them.

[rendezvous_drummer]

Nice work man, I love the stain finish. I've now decided to do the same thing. Looks great.

[MECHT4NK]

cool tv... nice work what you've done to the drumkit too. though if I would have spend so much work on the kit I would have also spend some money on other mounts for your toms that don't mount to the shell.

[Wegadrummer]

How much was it to get it painted?

My uncle works as a carpainted, so I got it for 300..

[BrianW]

cool tv... nice work what you've done to the drumkit too. though if I would have spend so much work on the kit I would have also spend some money on other mounts for your toms that don't mount to the shell.
Funny you said that, Im planning on doing it next, after i pay off my bills. Money...guh...

[PreppieNerd]

Great job man, they look so much better and more professional now!
I have one question,
did you cut or something those long lugs, becouse they are small now?


Exports have long lug facades. They were probably just held under by the lugs. It looks much better minus the long lugs.

I agree with your friend that the stock BD hoops look better than wood hoops would.

[Drummer Karl]

I agree with your friend that the stock BD hoops look better than wood hoops would.

yes, that is the only thing I don`t like about it...the bass drum hoops don`t look so good...maybe buy some wooden hoops and paint them...would look much better. ;)

but all in all it is still an awesome look!

Karl

[tamadrummer132]

VERY nicely done.

im doing the same with my old pacific kit. almost same exact finish too! but mines a wee bit darker.

il post pics later.

congratz x)

[drumbandit]

i like the black BD hoops (answering your question from earlier) i noticed them before i read ur comment on them.i love the re-finish id worry id get it wrong good man for going for it!

[weegs51690]

bastard! i'm doing the same with my newer exports! i chose a different color though. yours look very nice. i did three coats of stane and two of gloss seal with the ones i have finished. how did you do yours? and what color stain is it? i used english chestnut from minwax.

[Exportdrummer]

That is sweet i have thought about doing the same thing

[d.c.drummer]

wow, that was a really professional looking job. Congrats!

[mkv]

man, it went from hidious to beautiful. I love natural kinda finishes ( when you can see the vains in the wod.

nicely done :D