Black residue on drum sticks?

TraxxFactor

TraxxFactor

Member
Over the past few months, there has been a mysterious black substance appearing on my sticks and heads. I have had no idea where it has been coming from. Then yesterday I hit the black logos on my cymbals and it showed up on the sticks. Has this happened to anyone? And is there a way to clean the heads and sticks? Oh and I play in the garage so I dont know if that's a factor.
 
What kind of cymbals and is the heat melting or causing the logos to smear??
It has been awfully hot here in Florida lately and the garage can be roasting.
 
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i have black residue on my sticks because i have a zildjian pitch black crash, but i cant imagine if you have uncoated cymbals what the residue could come from.
 
GRUNTERSDAD said:
What kind of cymbals and is the heat melting or causing the logos to smear??
It has been awfully hot here in Florida lately
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The cymbals are Meinl MCS and a Paiste PST5 crash. The logos aren't smearing on the cymbals but the sticks just pick up the black ink.

And I second the weather statement.
 
If it's appearing on your heads and your sticks it's most likely from the logos on the cymbals and logos on the heads (more likely). You can kind of clean your heads by wiping them down with a towel, BUT if you have a coated head you might take off some of the coating, so I wouldn't advise it on anything but a clear head.
 
Maybe store them inside while you aren't playing. My garage must be 105 degrees during the day
 
Joe P said:
If it's appearing on your heads and your sticks it's most likely from the logos on the cymbals and logos on the heads (more likely). You can kind of clean your heads by wiping them down with a towel, BUT if you have a coated head you might take off some of the coating, so I wouldn't advise it on anything but a clear head.
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Yeah that's what I was worried about because I do have coated heads. I'm probably just gonna leave my heads how they are. I was really agitated cause I just got a new snare head and after about five minutes of playing, 75% of the center had black dots.

GRUNTERSDAD said:
Maybe store them inside while you aren't playing. My garage must be 105 degrees during the day
Click to expand...

Haha its probably the same case for me. I'll probably do the storing inside idea when I'm gone for several days.
 
Do you have any tape on your heads/sticks? That sticky residue will do that if you dare put tape anywhere on your kit....
 
do you happen to have a black cowbell? I have a black cowbell and i've noticed by tips getting a little dark from hitting it.
 
I sometimes see red ink come off of my 2oo2's onto my sticks and i sometimes get black mark on my stick when I hit my perl bell ring thing......sorry i foget what the name of it is called.
 
Lately with all of the rain that there has been in Connecticut, I have seen black on my sticks and heads also. I would have to say that it is black mold and mill dew! I think that there are mushrooms growing in my bass drum!
 
I would take a new stick and hit everything in my set and then a piece of white paper and see what leaves the first black mark then try to figure out why.
 
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