Painting Drums Help

B

Bsrutkoski

Junior Member
I'm wanting to paint my drums a yellow color and I'm planning on putting a varnish onto it. To give it a nice shiny look and protect the color. What kind of paint and varnish would I need to buy to do this? Please and thank you.
 
What color are they now? First sand them with at least 220 grit sand paper, finer if you want a better finish. do you have a paint gun? If not use spray cans and I would say Krylon. Many light coats so it doesnt run. Patience is the key here. In between coats use some 600 grit sand paper lightly to remove any rough spots. If you buy a gloss paint in the can you will not need to put a clear on them. However if you decide to use a polyurethane spray and not varnish. Varnish is very difficult to work with. Good luck. Again patience and ask before you make a mistake.
 
They have no paint on them right now, just plain shells. I've sanded them down to where I want them. I don't have a paint gun so I'm guessing I'll have to with spray cans. :/ Would Krylon stay on the shells without any chipping or such? I want it to have a really clean transparent look on it. I'm not too sure how to describe what I'm looking for but that's the best I can do. (I'm not very good at describing things.)
 
If by "transparent", you mean you want the wood grain to show through, then a rattle can spray job is not what you want .... as far as color base. It'll be very hard to get a transparent finish, with a spray can. A spray gun, sure, because you'd be mixing the paint, and you can regulate the level of pigment. And you can regulate the spray, as well. With a can, not so much.​
A finish that shows off the wood .... you'll want to stain the shell, to the desired color/shade ... and then apply a clear coat (like polyurethane).​
 
You said paint so I will assume you mean paint.

First, your primer coat is extremely important. Painting directly over sanded wood is not going to fare well. Spray paint from a can will go on nicely if you have fresh product and you know how to operate it, but is a very very fine layer. You need a substantial sandable primer coat that bonds to the surface. Then you lay the paint on top of that.

If you do spray can them, practice your technique on something else. Apply the paint in several very thin layers. Never try to cover something on one pass. Also, if you use a back and forth motion, let off the nozzle at the beginning and end of the motion or you will get an extra thick layer where you stopped and went back in the opposite direction. ANd, when the can gets toward the end, get a new one. Cans tend to spatter when they start running low. Same on starting a fresh can. Spray it to clear the nozzle of any crud.

Also, unless you use some crazy epoxy kind of paint, it's gonna be prone to damage. Even a strong poly finish won't offer great protection.



Second, varnish is from the 50's. Modern sealant is some form of polyurethane.
 
What kind of paint should I use if I want it to hold up? I want it to be a bright yellow but so far I haven't found a stain in that color. For the polyurethane coating, I was gonna get Wood Classics Waterborne Polyurethane Varnish. Would that be a good choice to go with? This is my first project like this so I'm a little uneducated about it, sadly. What kind of primer would you recommend I get? If anyone knows of a good bright yellow paint substance I can use for this project please let me know.
 
OK, you didn't address the "transparent" question. Do you want a transparent yellow, or an opaque yellow?​
As far as durability, any standard finish is prone to getting damaged, if abused. Handle your drums carefully, you'll be fine. The bass guitar falls off its stand and hits your drum, expect damage.​
Wood Classics http://www.sherwin-williams.com/hom...e_varnish/?WT.mc_id=Old DIY Products Redirect doesn't look like it comes in a spray can, so I'd avoid that. You don't wanna be using a brush. I've used Minwax Polycrylic (spray can) to great success.​
 
New Tricks said:
You said paint so I will assume you mean paint.

First, your primer coat is extremely important. Painting directly over sanded wood is not going to fare well. Spray paint from a can will go on nicely if you have fresh product and you know how to operate it, but is a very very fine layer. You need a substantial sandable primer coat that bonds to the surface. Then you lay the paint on top of that.

If you do spray can them, practice your technique on something else. Apply the paint in several very thin layers. Never try to cover something on one pass. Also, if you use a back and forth motion, let off the nozzle at the beginning and end of the motion or you will get an extra thick layer where you stopped and went back in the opposite direction. ANd, when the can gets toward the end, get a new one. Cans tend to spatter when they start running low. Same on starting a fresh can. Spray it to clear the nozzle of any crud.

Also, unless you use some crazy epoxy kind of paint, it's gonna be prone to damage. Even a strong poly finish won't offer great protection.



Second, varnish is from the 50's. Modern sealant is some form of polyurethane.
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Very use full information thank you very much for sharing with us .Is there any specific paint brand that you can suggest?
 
I want like an opaque yellow. What's the difference between applying the polyurethane with a brush or by a spray can? And I know that it will get damaged if abused or mistreated, but I plan on taking very good care of it. This is most likely gonna be a stay at home practice kit and I'll take my other kit with wraps on it to gigs.
 
I would not suggest putting anything on with a brush unless it is a very light stain. I would also not use a brush for the clear either.
 
Well I'm not using a stain unless I can find a yellow one. Which I haven't so far. And is there a reason not to use a brush for the clear coat? Would I spray it on?
 
The yellow drum is something I found on google, but that is what I want mine to look like. That is like a guide to where I wanna end up. No, my hardware isn't back on my shells already. I just set the rims and the drumheads onto the shells to give it a better look. But there they are. Help is appreciated.
 

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A brush won't get you a thin enough coat, and you'll have potential drips, runs, and actual brush marks in your clear coat.​
A stain won't get you a look, like that yellow drum. I don't know where you live, or what shops you have access to. Most shops will carry some kinda "Tonka" yellow. Krylon and Rustolium brands are popular. You'll want to prime those shells, to give your color coat a smooth finish to lay over. It'll seal the wood.​
 
Oh, ok. Do you have any suggestions on paint and paint type?

And I live in Arizona. True Value does carry all kinds of paint/spraypaint, like Krylon. I've tried that before. And with primer, would I sand in between coats or would I just layer them after each drying process?
 
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Phoenix? What part of town? I'm in central Phoenix and could give you some some direction. I'm a construction guy and have done a lot of painting including my drums back in 1978. I just sprayed over the plastic laminate shells with an oil based glossy paint. I was painting some cabinets and thought, what the hell, I'll paint my drums. I had a decent spray pot/gun.

You need some quality sandable primer. Put on a coat and sand it with really fine paper, then repeat until its ready for paint. Remember, paint doesn't hide anything, it magnifies flaws.

If you are patient and want to ensure a top notch job, do a test on a similar piece of wood. Prime, sand and prime till it's smooth, paint it, let it dry a couple days and see how tough/scratch resistant it is.

If you are in a hurry, prime, prime, prime, paint, seal, assemble and play :)

Text me if you'd like 602 793 4998 John
 
I'm in Prescott and I'm in no hurry. This is a 2nd drum set that I had just laying around and it was a junker. I bought it off of craigslist for $50 but I can tell the guy I got it off of had no idea what it was worth haha. The kit came with a DW 5000 series double bass pedal which is around $200 alone and a nice Yamaha snare. But anyways, the shells looked absolutely terrible and I decided I might as well try and do something with them instead of having them sit in a corner collecting dust. If there are chips little chips in the shells should I put some wood filler in them and sand it flat? And if there's a specific primer you'd recommend let me know. And how many coats of primer should I apply?
 
Bsrutkoski said:
I'm in Prescott and I'm in no hurry. This is a 2nd drum set that I had just laying around and it was a junker. I bought it off of craigslist for $50 but I can tell the guy I got it off of had no idea what it was worth haha. The kit came with a DW 5000 series double bass pedal which is around $200 alone and a nice Yamaha snare. But anyways, the shells looked absolutely terrible and I decided I might as well try and do something with them instead of having them sit in a corner collecting dust. If there are chips little chips in the shells should I put some wood filler in them and sand it flat? And if there's a specific primer you'd recommend let me know. And how many coats of primer should I apply?
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Prescott!!

I have a place in Highland Pines (10 minutes West) so I am up there once in a while. I almost went up today.

They key is in the preparation. Fill chips with a quality wood putty/filler. I don't remember the brand but it's a small yellow can and it has kind of an alcohol base and dries very quickly. Sand smooth with fine grit and repeat as necessary. You need to prime with as many coats as it takes and sand with a super fine paper in between. If you look at the surfaces at an angle, in really good light, you will know when they look smooth. Practice with a scrap. And, for yellow paint, use white primer.
 
Oh, nice. Thank you for the help. Once Christmas is over with I'll start buying all the supplies needed for this little project. I'll post the pictures of what it looks like afterwards so you guys can see the progress. Thanks :)
 
Krylon makes a spray paint that is designed to be sprayed over plastic if necessary. It is called Fusion. I used the yellow on my Bee Bop set and it worked great.
 

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I would use that Fusion spraypaint but I'm there's no wrap over these shells. It's bare wood. All sanded and dust free and ready for a paint job.
 
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