Ludwig Vistalite

robthetimekeeper

Senior Member
Hey All!
My latest acquisition. I have always wanted a set of vistalites so I bought these. They are in rough shape to say the least. The shells aren't too bad but the hardware is a mess. Somebody spray painted the hoops black and there is a ton of rust. I have heard that Maguire's is the best stuff for cleaning the shells. What can I do about the rust? Is there any way to make the hardware look good again?
Also, the sizes are 24", 13", 14", 18". Is this the norm for vistalites? They seem big to me.
Thanks!
 

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Re: ludwig vistalite

Where are they in the picture?

I can't see them.................


LOL
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Re: ludwig vistalite

It's a good thing those shells are moisture resistant. I they were ply drums, they'd of come apart. It looks like they were exposed to a lot of moisture. It looks to me that some of it will not clean up at all, like the down post on the kick. Needs to be rechromed. Which you can have a business in your area do. Some of the lugs might clean up with chrome cleaner/ polish. I've been surprised a couple of times when I used Brazo, to clean rusty drum parts. Congrats on you find. Those drums are cool. My son has some orange ones.
 
Where are they in the picture?

I can't see them.................


LOL
.
.
.

That's the idea! Ha Ha!

It's a good thing those shells are moisture resistant. I they were ply drums, they'd of come apart. It looks like they were exposed to a lot of moisture. It looks to me that some of it will not clean up at all, like the down post on the kick. Needs to be rechromed. Which you can have a business in your area do. Some of the lugs might clean up with chrome cleaner/ polish. I've been surprised a couple of times when I used Brazo, to clean rusty drum parts. Congrats on you find. Those drums are cool. My son has some orange ones.

The previous owner kept these on the back porch and used to play a lot of beach gigs. I don't mind that they are not collector quality. I got them pretty cheap. Maybe I'll spray paint the rest of the hardware to match the hoops!
 
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I'd start off by replacing every bit of metal on those things. Salt corrosion on the type of metal used for lugs and mounts is no joke. Hopefully you can get the screws out of the metal bits, they're probably as corroded as the rest. Then a very loving cleaning (something they've likely not had in a while". A lot of work and some money and they'll be back to playing trim in no time.
 
I'd start off by replacing every bit of metal on those things.
Agreed. That rust and pitting ..... that's about to worst case I've ever seen on a drum kit.​
 
I'm just not sure I like this look.

It kind of looks like there are no drums there.

1391988_651690064851193_1082813734_n.jpg




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Those look like a million bucks! Makes me want to sit down and rock out!
 
Very nice shells - that is the most important part anyway. Yes, thankfully they were plastic. It wouldn't surprise me if being the moist environment helped preserve the plastic.

I wouldn't even bother trying to clean up the hardware, it looks so far gone. It would be worth it just to get new hardware all the way around. I'd also take this as an opportunity to suspend the toms.

The floor tom blows me away - it's the size of my bass drum! These are big, rambunctious drums that need some tlc and new hardware.
 
Is Novus or Meguiar's better for restoring the shells? Thanks.
 
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