I just made old heads as good as new!

Hey Crew,

Glad that some of you enjoyed this trick, and it works for you.
As for the others that it did NOT work for, it might be the type of head, excessive heat setting on the iron, or leaving the iron in one spot too long.

I've done this a few times since I last posted, and have refined the technique a bit more-

First make sure the iron's contact surface is absolutely clean and dry.

Iron setting should be at the second hottest level on DRY- not STEAM.
If it's a steam/dry iron, make sure all of the water has been dumped out of it beforehand, and let set a day or 2 to allow any residual water to evaporate out.

Make sure you place a towel on a really HARD surface that will not distort under pressure, (like a solid wood table) and make sure the surface is smooth and level.

A soft pillowcase over the head helps, but is not necessary, and if you use one, you will have to make SURE it stays flat, not wrinkled. You will also have to keep lifting it up to see the head underneath, so use your own judgment.

It works on two-ply heads as long as the plies have not been too badly separated, and works especially well on Mylar, and single-ply.

The best technique is to avoid having the "pointy" tip of the iron contact the head at a downward angle- use the rounded sides of the iron near the front, and DO NOT hold the iron in any one spot for more than 1-1/2 seconds. Apply heavy pressure, using circular movements, and most of all, take your time and make many passes instead of tying to "iron out" all the dimples at once.

Let the head cool for at least 5-10 minutes before re-installing it on the drum, and make sure that you tighten the hardware very evenly and gently until you get a "full snug", then tighten it to your preference.

I also found another really weird-ass trick that I've been using for a couple weeks, now.
Yes, it'll sound stupid, but it really works good for me! I had some heavy (limo) black Mylar window tint that I had left over from doing all my side and rear Jeep windows, and cut a "dot" about 2" in diameter smaller than the drum heads. It's self-adhesive, and went right over the (freshly ironed and cleaned) head. I squeegeed out all the bubbles in it, and now it serves as extra protection from denting and stick marks. It also gave the toms a slightly richer tone, and can be ironed just like above.

Rock on,
C. P.
 
Hey Crew,

Here's a few pics I just took of my "head ironing" technique,and how good it works. you can also see the Mylar "dots" i put on the heads. the last pic shows both my classic Harleys in the background.

The 1st 2 pics are "before" and the last ones are "after"- stick marks remain on the heads, but not the dents and spalling.

Rock on,
C. P.
 

Attachments

  • April 9, 2009 077.jpg
    April 9, 2009 077.jpg
    288.1 KB · Views: 318
  • April 9, 2009 078.jpg
    April 9, 2009 078.jpg
    295.9 KB · Views: 316
  • April 9, 2009 079.jpg
    April 9, 2009 079.jpg
    293.3 KB · Views: 323
  • April 9, 2009 080.jpg
    April 9, 2009 080.jpg
    289.7 KB · Views: 309
  • April 9, 2009 082.jpg
    April 9, 2009 082.jpg
    291.2 KB · Views: 320
  • April 9, 2009 083.jpg
    April 9, 2009 083.jpg
    296.8 KB · Views: 319
Another old trick for taking a dent out of a head is using a hair dryer set on the hot setting. I accidently made a dent in a Hazy reso snare head I was putting on, used the hair dryer and it dissapeared. I remember using this on other thicker heads years ago when I used to bash and dent heads occasionally.
 
Back
Top