Drumz
Member
Oh, and what works best for cleaning up old, rust-spotted hoops, lugs, etc? Anyone have any suggestions?
It depends. How old and how badly rusted? If the rust is extensive, just look into buying new hardware. The online dealers like Precision, Drum Foundry, DrumMaker, All Star, American Music Drumparts, etc have TONS of options available online and almost certainly make lugs, brackets and hoops which would be ideal for your project.
However, if the rust is mild and the chrome is not too severely pitted, you can always try to remove it and restore the shine. For rust removal, start with fine steel wool and/or aluminum foil. If that isn't effective, you could combine steel wool with a rust removal product. Lots of people find that Brasso polish works well in that regard. Others have recommended Metal Rescue, which is a soaking bath - you leave the chrome in it overnight. If that gets the rust off, then your can wash it and then soak it overnight in denatured alcohol to restore some of the shine.
Either way, you gotta post pictures when you're done.