How do you prevent your lugs from pitting?

[BigDinSD]

I'm considering purchasing a snare that was born in 3/2009. I am told that it has a tiny bit of pitting on the lug edges. Does anyone have recommendations on how to prevent any pitting in the future? Would a drum with prior pitting be subject to FASTER pitting in the future

I was surprised it would have any pitting, being a drum that is fairly new. But as many of you know, that all depends on things like climate and storage humidity.

Would you suggest a type of sealant to apply? I live in an area that is is low humidity, and I don't store my kits in their cases.

Thanks!

[JBoom]

Never had this problem. I recommend a regular metal polish (I use Noxon 7) when it seems needed. I do a good polishing every 2 years or so, and my 6 year old kit looks as good as new.

[Bo Eder]

Pitting? May I ask what kind of snare it is? For something so young, I find it hard to believe it has pitting unless it was somehow left outside in the rain or otherwise abused? I mean I've had snares for five years that still look new, and the only time they're in their cases is when they're going somewhere.

[BigDinSD]

Originally Posted by Bo Eder

Pitting? May I ask what kind of snare it is? For something so young, I find it hard to believe it has pitting unless it was somehow left outside in the rain or otherwise abused? I mean I've had snares for five years that still look new, and the only time they're in their cases is when they're going somewhere.

Excellent questions Bo,

I too wondered the same thing, since the snare is fairly new. I was told it is "a very tiny bit of pitting on the outer lug edges".

Of course, sellers will tell you it was safely kept and cared for. The seller mentioned he could just "steel wool" it back to perfect condition. I am thankful for his honesty. Could have been kept in a Gator bag, huh?

It is the infamous DW Edge.

[tamadrm]

Originally Posted by BigDinSD

Excellent questions Bo,

I too wondered the same thing, since the snare is fairly new. I was told it is "a very tiny bit of pitting on the outer lug edges".

Of course, sellers will tell you it was safely kept and cared for. The seller mentioned he could just "steel wool" it back to perfect condition. I am thankful for his honesty. Could have been kept in a Gator bag, huh?

It is the infamous DW Edge.

I have said this on many occasions.Never....ever....ever,use steel wool on chrome.It is way to abrasive and aggressive,and will scratch the chrome.Ther are plenty of good metal polishes out there,like Flitz,and Mothers,just to name a few,that won't harm chrome.Some polishes,have a chemical protectant in them,or you can use a good quality car wax.

It could be bad storage,or just a bad chrome plating job.If you're going to store drums in their cases fo more than a few days,unless you live in a place like Arizona,then get some silica gel bags to absorb the moisture.

Steve B

[Les Ismore]

I was surprised it would have any pitting, being a drum that is fairly new. But as many of you know, that all depends on things like climate and storage humidity.

What it mainly depends on is what the lug is made of.

If its a pot metal lug, usually the casting mold is usually the (pitting) culprit. Sealing with polish will help a little. Moisture enters from the inside of the lug via the lug nut gap. If a standard monkey metal lug were chrome plated inside and out it would stand a better chance.

Temperature extremes don't help, they cause condensation, chrome plated monkey metal's big nemesis.

A bigger problem is rusting steel, especially tension rods, hoops and the knurled section of boom arms and floor tom legs. Mineral oil rub downs on steel will keep the moisture away, the chrome won't be as shiny, but it won't rust if the oil is present.

[stranjluv101]

You really don't need to buy any chrome polishes or chemicals. Unless you have multiple uses for that, you will just end up throwing it out after awhile.

Just use some vinegar, clear works fine. It has a 5% acidic content, which is just enough to clean, and just light enough to not do any damage. Get some microfiber towels, like the kind sold in automotives, and use these to wipe the vinegar on and off. Your hardware will come out sparkling, trust me. I have brought some pretty cruddy looking drums back to life using just these two items.

Anything that is rusty can be soaked in vinegar for awhile, but not too long. I probably wouldn't do it for more than a day or so. normally a couple of hours is enough for the really bad stuff.

Just do NOT use paper towels or bath towels. I have scratched chrome up with those. And NO wire brushes!

If you clean the rods, put a small drop of 3-in-1 oil on a thread. One drop lubes it up well enough, trust me. Petroleum jelly attracts dust (and hair, ewww)

If you want to prevent futher pitting, clean the drum as needed. If this is your main snare, you might want to give it a total wipe down a few times a year.

Best of luck!

[Boom]

Originally Posted by stranjluv101

Just use some vinegar, clear works fine. It has a 5% acidic content, which is just enough to clean, and just light enough to not do any damage.

Best of luck!

I found that vinegar was too harsh. It removes paint from metal and might do the same to chrome. I know this from cleaning up one of my own kits. And I only soaked some bolts for like 15-30 minutes. Fortunately it was just on bolts that held the lugs to the drum so you can only see them on the inside of the shell. You have to be very careful with vinegar. I wouldn't recommend it.

[stranjluv101]

Originally Posted by Boom

I found that vinegar was too harsh. It removes paint from metal and might do the same to chrome. I know this from cleaning up one of my own kits. And I only soaked some bolts for like 15-30 minutes. Fortunately it was just on bolts that held the lugs to the drum so you can only see them on the inside of the shell. You have to be very careful with vinegar. I wouldn't recommend it.

It removed the chrome off the lug screws?

I have used vinegar on Tama, Pearl, Mapex, Sonor, Yamaha, Premier,and Pacific drum parts, as well as a few no-name after markets parts, and never had the chrome come off. That is, except for one time I left a Tama Superstar (1980's) tom mount soak in the stuff for over a week.

What you might've seen on the lug screws wasn't chrome coming off, but whatever other coating they were using. I find that many lug screws aren't chrome plated at all. Why bother, they're not seen anyway.

[Boom]

The screws were painted black, not chrome. But now that the screws are stripped, it doesn't look as good when you look inside the drum through a clear batter head. And that paint was broken down very quickly from the straight vinegar. The paint might have had some corrosion (small amounts) and that obviously reacted to the vinegar speeding up the paint removal.

I'm just saying that I learned that vinegar can be a little harsh. I was lucky that I learned on a part of my kit that doesn't really matter.

If the metal isn't flawed and neither is the chrome, I'm sure that vinegar can be fine. I just wanted to share (not to disparage what you said).

BTW, for cleaning chrome that has any rust damage, Coke a Cola works wonders. It removes the rust completely and with a little bit of elbow grease with some aluminum foil rolled up into a ball, you can remove rust safely from chrome. The aluminum is softer than the chrome and won't scratch it.

I'm reading this thread just to learn also though. I want to prevent my lugs from pitting or bubbling also.

[stranjluv101]

That's weird. I cleaned a Ludwig Black Magic brass snare from top to bottom using Vinegar and none of that black paint came off. What kind of snare was yours?

Coca Cola's is more acidic than vinegar. I wouldn't use it.

[Boom]

I used vinegar on the screws for the lugs on one of my floor toms. I used Coke a cola from a suggestion in another thread where I was told it would be more mild than the vinegar.

I used coke on some screws and vinegar on others. The vinegar took paint off, the coke didn't. I then used Coke a Cola on my gibraltar rack that had some rusting on the bottom and it took only the rust off and left all of the chrome intact.

Just my observations. :) Keep in mind, on perfectly intact stuff, I don't doubt that vinegar would work fine. I'm talking about metal that might already have some corrosion. In that case, I'm confident, that Coke would be better than vinegar.

[BigDinSD]

Originally Posted by Boom

I used vinegar on the screws for the lugs on one of my floor toms. I used Coke a cola from a suggestion in another thread where I was told it would be more mild than the vinegar.

I used coke on some screws and vinegar on others. The vinegar took paint off, the coke didn't. I then used Coke a Cola on my gibraltar rack that had some rusting on the bottom and it took only the rust off and left all of the chrome intact.

Just my observations. :) Keep in mind, on perfectly intact stuff, I don't doubt that vinegar would work fine. I'm talking about metal that might already have some corrosion. In that case, I'm confident, that Coke would be better than vinegar.

Waz up Boom!?

Actually, I add Italian Dressing for a tasty steak marinade :-)
Soak for a couple hours and that vinegar, coke and dressing combo will tenderize steaks for grilling.
Sorry, wrong forum...

...waiting on that snare anyways...