Basic drum maintenance?

Hi all, so my question for maintenance is a bit different..

So obviously you clean your kit(dust grunge etc) and if there's a lose screw you tighten it & all the standards for the pedals (bass & hi hat)

So my question is, what Maintenance or care & preventative steps do you guys take for drum sets that are in less then ideal spaces...
(Garages, out buildings, shipping containerss (converted of course) etc)
You know those place that at not weather resistant, have excess moisture, visible cracks or tiny holes to outside and roll back garage style doors...

I have no idea how to keep a set from rusting, warping etc..
Obviously I keep my nice stuff In the house but have a good sounding lower end set in a space described above that I want to keep in solid working order as it what I practice on when folks are at home & I can't bang away in the house.

Now I just have it up on a few pallets and through a tarp over it Incase a leak starts in the roof it doesn't get rained on or sit in water & call it a night.
 
For chrome, there's a technique that uses aluminum foil and water. This assumes the chroming was a quality job that can be restored in the first place.
I would start with a cloth and some chrome polish first though, as that is all that may be needed as shown in these before and after photos...
 

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I'm fully on board the once a year full maintenance train. I've always been a motorcycle rider all my life, and preventative maintenance and cleaning is in my soul I guess by now.

Drums: I pull all the heads off drums, put a dab of vaseline on all the tension rods, check all the screws and wax the shells with car wax. I look at the heads and see how they look, and replace them if they seem pretty thrashed. A bit of wax on the bearing edges. chrome polish on rims and lugs if needed, and reassemble.

Stands and Hardware: I also usually put car wax on all the cymbal stands and tom stands once per year. Check for rusting and clean or lube things as needed. I wipe all the dust off the pedals, and look for loose or missing screws everywhere. Check the cymbal felts and post covers to make sure there's no metal to metal contact and replace bits if needed. Zildjian make a terrific cymbal parts bag that is a great deal for a bunch of felts, wing nuts, washers and other bits. I keep one in my hardware bag at all times.

Cymbals I typically clean every 6 months, or before an outdoor gig. I've tried a bunch of different cleaners and methods, none have turned out to be a favorite.

It seems like a lot of work, but I find it keeps you in touch with your drums. If you care for them, they are more fun to play. If you gig a lot, stuff falls off and gets left behind. If your kit sits in a basement year round, then it won't need as much work obviously.

I probably did 800 bar shows with a set of Pearl Exports, and they still look great after all these years. (I sold them to a buddy a couple years ago, so still get to use them from time to time)
 
Even heavily used drums need little maintenance, but pedals and hardware do.

The plastic cymbal stand sleeves that stop the cymbal key holing need checking for wear and replacing. Pedals need pivot points lubing and the spring checking. Also, if you use a falam patch on the BD head, check for wear and change if needed. Check for wear and clean all the moving parts on drum mounts and stands.

Check the strings or tapes on the snare wire ends for wear. Check hi-hat pedal for wear on lower cymbal mount, and check rod for wear and straightness.
 
I serviced my hi-hat stand and my bass pedal a few weeks ago and I was shocked. It had been about 3 years.
 
Last edited:
whiteknightx said:
I'm fully on board the once a year full maintenance train. I've always been a motorcycle rider all my life, and preventative maintenance and cleaning is in my soul I guess by now.

Drums: I pull all the heads off drums, put a dab of vaseline on all the tension rods, check all the screws and wax the shells with car wax. I look at the heads and see how they look, and replace them if they seem pretty thrashed. A bit of wax on the bearing edges. chrome polish on rims and lugs if needed, and reassemble.

Stands and Hardware: I also usually put car wax on all the cymbal stands and tom stands once per year. Check for rusting and clean or lube things as needed. I wipe all the dust off the pedals, and look for loose or missing screws everywhere. Check the cymbal felts and post covers to make sure there's no metal to metal contact and replace bits if needed. Zildjian make a terrific cymbal parts bag that is a great deal for a bunch of felts, wing nuts, washers and other bits. I keep one in my hardware bag at all times.

Cymbals I typically clean every 6 months, or before an outdoor gig. I've tried a bunch of different cleaners and methods, none have turned out to be a favorite.

It seems like a lot of work, but I find it keeps you in touch with your drums. If you care for them, they are more fun to play. If you gig a lot, stuff falls off and gets left behind. If your kit sits in a basement year round, then it won't need as much work obviously.

I probably did 800 bar shows with a set of Pearl Exports, and they still look great after all these years. (I sold them to a buddy a couple years ago, so still get to use them from time to time)
Click to expand...

This is what I do too, perhaps not so often, but it looks like it.
I would say once in a year checking, dusting, cleaning, polishing the hoops. Each time I disassemble a drum I check for loosen screw, oiling what needs to be, cleaning bearing edges...
Once in a while I disassemble the chains to clean them, they're often full of dust.
But I never clean that much the cymbals, just dust, but barely polishing them.

i like my drum kit to be clean and shiny even if it's old, and to be trustworthy!
I had once a bad experience with snare strand breakage during a concert and a lug screw rattling on the bottom skin of a tom ; I really prefer spending time with maintenance than having that kind of experience again.
[sorry I don't have the term for the snare attachment!!!]
This goes with a small bag of "first care" parts for concert (wing nuts, felts, ...)...
 
Last edited:
Createsounds said:
Hi all, so my question for maintenance is a bit different..

So obviously you clean your kit(dust grunge etc) and if there's a lose screw you tighten it & all the standards for the pedals (bass & hi hat)

So my question is, what Maintenance or care & preventative steps do you guys take for drum sets that are in less then ideal spaces...
(Garages, out buildings, shipping containerss (converted of course) etc)
You know those place that at not weather resistant, have excess moisture, visible cracks or tiny holes to outside and roll back garage style doors...

I have no idea how to keep a set from rusting, warping etc..
Obviously I keep my nice stuff In the house but have a good sounding lower end set in a space described above that I want to keep in solid working order as it what I practice on when folks are at home & I can't bang away in the house.

Now I just have it up on a few pallets and through a tarp over it Incase a leak starts in the roof it doesn't get rained on or sit in water & call it a night.
Click to expand...

Any recommendations to avoid your kit going to hell...
 
Just like a car. Keep it tuned and keep it clean. A lube job now and then won't hurt.
 
Createsounds said:
Any recommendations to avoid your kit going to hell...
Click to expand...

Really, drums are made to handle those conditions.

I've often just gone to a store and gotten a large cheap bed spread to keep dust off. If water is actually dripping I'd fix the leak, but short term a thin nylon tarp, like you can get for your car I guess would work.

Hardware that starts oxidizing really just needs a clean and some sort of light polish. Any typical microfiber cloth is fine.

A bit of oil maybe preceded by a clean in the right places.

Drums are transported around in al sorts of weather, played inside, outside, whatever... They can take it.

In extreme and hasty temperature/climate changes finishes will crack, but it takes going from a hot car and setting up with absolutely to time for things to acclimatize to something like a Siberian winter for that to happen. Not very likely for most of us.
 
Barring head changes and the odd squirt of WD40 on the bass drum pedal there's not much you need to do.

If I have a promo vid or a photo shoot then I'll polish the pies.

If you're silly enough to keep your kit in a damp area or extreme hot or cold then you're in for trouble.
 
Odd Arne
Thanks For the tips there definitely no leaking currently but there's always the possibility when you've converted a full sized 18wheeler trailer into a studio & performance space. I'd definitely fix any leaks as soon as they occurred but things happen in the middle of the night or while your away... So I definitely use a tarp to cover at the end of the day. And I guess I look into oil &/or wax to help delay oxidation/rusting as that and moisture damaging the wood was my main questions.

- mikyok
Thanks for saying "silly" & not stupid as I usually do if I intended the word stupid. Haha
Unfortunately we all can't have ideal locations for rehearsals etc. but fortunately there are individuals willing to share the suggestions and knowledge as to how to make the best out of an less than ideal situation.
And in my case at least I am fortunate to have 2 places: 1 for a higher end set but can only be used part time and a 2nd space that has 24hr access but less than ideal environment, were I can have a less than perfect kit set up that Im not as attached to or worried about adverse reactions to weather etc. but would at least like take whatever precautions I can to keep my lower end things from got to total shit while I use the season to finish the converting from A standard wood paneled 4 walls and garage doored 18wheeler trailer to and insulated walled and entry way converted to studio 18wheeler trailer.

Thanks again for the helpful suggestions
 
I agree that a heavily gigged kit needs more attention I had a kit that I gigged an average of 5 times a month, was cased the rest of the time,and at the two year mark I pulled them out of the cases in daylight and they were totally spooged.I broke them down and cleaned/detailed,and applied turtle chrome wax to all the metal parts and buffed the wmp shells with auto polish.prtects and is somewhat slippery to help keep dust off.Dust turns to dirt,which retains moisture and that is what starts rust.After that I would dust the drums and hardware off occasionally,sometimes I would clean with a damp towel,and that kept them looking good for a long time.
 
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