Mak'n it my own!

Symyn240

Member
So I bought this PDP Cx 5pc in Black Onyx about a month ago, got bored with the snare and was just using my other snares with the set. I started feeling bad for the snare and figured that if i make it my own, i would be more inclined to use it, so......

I stripped the drum completely, sanded it down, and stained it Midnight Blue, fell in love with it, just completely fell in love with the snare. Put a new head on it and BAMN! My new almost favorite snare :)

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Please dont mind the bad pics, all are done with my cam phone.

So after I played with the drum for all of about a week, I decided i liked the color so much that i would like to do the entire set! I had restored an early 1960's era pearl kit so i had a little bit of prior knowledge. It was going very well till the 12" Tom, and then the Bass drum, for some reason PDP used glue on the entire drum for both of these! The 10" Tom and Snare and Snare wrap came off perfectly! But not these, I got the 12" done with sand paper and some real elbow grease, turned out as my new favorite drum!

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But the Bass, wow... I dont think that my arms can stand trying to sand all this glue off, so if anybody knows how to take off glue without hurting the maple, please let me know! They both also had some green undercoating on them, never scene anything like it before.

Here is the finished (almost) 10" tom.

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My last question is on the final finish, i want to keep these matte finish, but I still want to protect the drum. Does anybody know the best final substance to keep it safe but matte?

I am going for this look.
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Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the pics, and let me know what you think!

And trying to find this hardware
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If anybody knows how to get ahold of these, let me know!
 
All i know is that the last lugs are pork pie ones. You could contact them, but i dont know if they'd be willing to sell you their signature lugs.
 
I found that the lugs are Pork Pie, from the little squealer kit. I sent an email a week ago to cust. service just to see what might happen, nothing yet.

I was a little weary of Goo be Gone, wasn't sure about the untreated wood factor, and would be really upset if i hurt the maple.
 
That SJC kit looks like a satin clear coat. You can get that at Home Depot. I'd go to one of the drum builder forums to consult the gurus over there how to apply/ polish it. Pork Pie will of course sell replacement lugs for their drums, you just have to ask your local dealer to order it for you.
 
I cant wait to see pics when you're finished ! that matte blue with that matte hardware is gonna look sweeeeeet !!!
 
great work man, the blue looks incredible with all the chrome, just very nicely done...
 
WooohooO! Almost done with the floor tom! Now just the bass (with the entire thing covered in adhesive) left to do!
 
Me giving the two toms a try at church this past Sunday, sounded AMAZING!
Woooohoooo! Even the 12" sounded great as a floor tom! Soooo Stoked!

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The floor tom on the block, getting some work done! :)

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Drums assembled before the satin clear will be applied (i will disassemble them to apply it), going to use them for a gig on Thurs, should be AWSOME!


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Found some before pics, not great, they are from the original owner/seller just as a reference.

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And the first time I set them up.
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The DW kits like the one you have pictured are finished in Tung Oil. You can get it in low gloss or high gloss. Or you can spray it with a satin poly.
 
I love this kind of stuff. Hats off to you for having the balls to modify your kit. I have a CX and was less than impressed with the matching snare that came with it. I unwrapped mine and then put maple hoops on it. I left the snare natural and put a dark mahogany stain on the hoops.

Here's a pic
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I would reconsider replacing the lugs. The PDP lugs use the same TruPitch tuning rods that are on the higher end DWs. I also consider the STM mounts to be an advantage in setup as well as sound. You switch out the lugs and you will lose all of those features.
 
I wont be switching them out if I dont have to, I considered the pork Pie ones, but then found a company in San Diego that will powder coat my stuff for much much less, so i will have Satin PDP hardware instead :) I am saving for wood hoops, i will be leaving them natural and they should go great with the dark blue, but I cant come close to affording them yet.

That snare looks AWSOME! what kind of clear did you use on the natural?
 
Why dont people drill large (2-2&1/2") vent holes in toms? It is so-posed to make snares sound louder and resonate better, so why not in toms???
 
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