1967 Ludwig Super Classic Restoration

I always enjoy seeing people's restoration posts, so I figured I'd share one of my own! I didn't take too many pictures of the process, but here's a few.

So, I bought these 67 Ludwigs on eBay recently and started the restoration process. It was a bit of gamble, but I've always wanted to tackle a project like this. Apparently they've been sitting in a storage shed for the past 20 years. Not sure when they were painted (or why), but it preserved the wrap amazingly!

The toms were relatively easy. For the 13" tom I was able to basically scratch the black spray paint and the gray layer off like a lottery ticket. I then used Goo Gone graffiti remover to get the remaing bit off. I wasn't able to really do the same on the 16" tom, so I resorted to Citistrip and some lacquer thinner. Added a fresh coat of paint on the insides of them both and lightly sanded away the overspray on the edges. The bass drum is proving to be a bit of a bear though as the paint seems thicker and there's an additional layer of white paint. Citistrip seems to be working well though. I've got about a third of the black paint off so far. The re-ring will need to be glued and clamped as it is separating some. The lugs and hoops were previously cleaned up, so that's one less thing to tackle.

I am hoping to finish the bass drum up by the weekend. I'll share more pictures when it's complete!

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Amazing job! I never would've thought you could get paint off the wrap like that. How long did it take to scrape it off of each tom? And what did you use exactly?

Can't wait for more pics!
 
I'm impressed! Beautiful result, you were lucky to find the wrap as good as new.
 
Amazing job! I never would've thought you could get paint off the wrap like that. How long did it take to scrape it off of each tom? And what did you use exactly?

Can't wait for more pics!

definitely hard to believe the wrap were in that good of a condition underneath. it's crazy to think someone would have even painted over them in the first place.

for the 13" tom I scraped the black layer off (carefully) with a metal putty knife. After that I sprayed the gray layer with Goo Gone graffiti remover and scrubbed it off with some off-brand brillo pads. Finished it up with some Novus.

the 16" tom didn't scrape as easy with the knife (paint seemed different), so I used Citistrip and then lacquer thinner to remove any of the left over residue. Haven't put any Novus on it yet, but it still looks great.

the bass drum seems to have either different black paint, or just more layers of it, and a layer of white underneath. the Citristrip is working, just taking a bit longer.
 
finally finished them up! they need a few replacement tension rods, the 13 and 16 batter hoops could stand to be replaced, and I'll probably swap out the bass drum heads it came with. overall though I am very pleased with how they came out. I haven't had a chance to tune them up and play, but here's the finished product (not the best lighting):

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it's crazy to think someone would have even painted over them in the first place.
Man, you were able to do a stunning restoration.

People painting over sparkles and patterns is not that uncommon, really. It's very "era" related. Starting about early/mid-70's, manufactures started adding more solid colors. Solids were in, and Krylon rattle cans were cheap ..... so broke musicians did what they did. Hence ..... your '67 painted black.

I once bought a "13x9" Ludwig tom off eBay. I knew it had been painted. No big deal. But when I opened the box ..... hmmmm ..... it had shrunk ..... to a 12x8. Not so good. I really needed a 13x9. But wait .... underneath the paint ..... was Psychedelic Red wrap. So I stripped off the hardware. Kept that. Stripped off the paint and cleaned up the shell ..... and sold just the shell for more than the whole drum cost.
 
People painting over sparkles and patterns is not that uncommon, really. It's very "era" related. Starting about early/mid-70's, manufactures started adding more solid colors. Solids were in, and Krylon rattle cans were cheap ..... so broke musicians did what they did. Hence ..... your '67 painted black.

makes sense, but still crazy! haha

I once bought a "13x9" Ludwig tom off eBay. I knew it had been painted. No big deal. But when I opened the box ..... hmmmm ..... it had shrunk ..... to a 12x8. Not so good. I really needed a 13x9. But wait .... underneath the paint ..... was Psychedelic Red wrap. So I stripped off the hardware. Kept that. Stripped off the paint and cleaned up the shell ..... and sold just the shell for more than the whole drum cost.

that turned out to be a good accident! I initially bought this kit thinking I'd just flip it, but I think I may end up parting with some other gear to hold onto this. I had a 100th anniversary set in champagne sparkle, but sold it because the sizes weren't my thing. always did love this finish.
 
I initially bought this kit thinking I'd just flip it, but I think I may end up parting with some other gear to hold onto this.
I've got those shells in a 20, 12, 14 Club Date kit. And the 3 ply maple/poplar/maple shells in Classic 26, 14, 16, 18. I can see how you might wanna keep 'em.
 
Man that’s just unbelievable. They really look great
 
I always enjoy seeing people's restoration posts, so I figured I'd share one of my own! I didn't take too many pictures of the process, but here's a few.

So, I bought these 67 Ludwigs on eBay recently and started the restoration process. It was a bit of gamble, but I've always wanted to tackle a project like this. Apparently they've been sitting in a storage shed for the past 20 years. Not sure when they were painted (or why), but it preserved the wrap amazingly!

The toms were relatively easy. For the 13" tom I was able to basically scratch the black spray paint and the gray layer off like a lottery ticket. I then used Goo Gone graffiti remover to get the remaing bit off. I wasn't able to really do the same on the 16" tom, so I resorted to Citistrip and some lacquer thinner. Added a fresh coat of paint on the insides of them both and lightly sanded away the overspray on the edges. The bass drum is proving to be a bit of a bear though as the paint seems thicker and there's an additional layer of white paint. Citistrip seems to be working well though. I've got about a third of the black paint off so far. The re-ring will need to be glued and clamped as it is separating some. The lugs and hoops were previously cleaned up, so that's one less thing to tackle.

I am hoping to finish the bass drum up by the weekend. I'll share more pictures when it's complete!

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?!!
I was in classic car restoration for many years and wouldn't have believed that possible. Stunning!
Reminded me of this song - haven't heard it for years but boy did I love it back then.
(Champagne Supernova, Oasis)
 
I always enjoy seeing people's restoration posts, so I figured I'd share one of my own! I didn't take too many pictures of the process, but here's a few.

So, I bought these 67 Ludwigs on eBay recently and started the restoration process. It was a bit of gamble, but I've always wanted to tackle a project like this. Apparently they've been sitting in a storage shed for the past 20 years. Not sure when they were painted (or why), but it preserved the wrap amazingly!

The toms were relatively easy. For the 13" tom I was able to basically scratch the black spray paint and the gray layer off like a lottery ticket. I then used Goo Gone graffiti remover to get the remaing bit off. I wasn't able to really do the same on the 16" tom, so I resorted to Citistrip and some lacquer thinner. Added a fresh coat of paint on the insides of them both and lightly sanded away the overspray on the edges. The bass drum is proving to be a bit of a bear though as the paint seems thicker and there's an additional layer of white paint. Citistrip seems to be working well though. I've got about a third of the black paint off so far. The re-ring will need to be glued and clamped as it is separating some. The lugs and hoops were previously cleaned up, so that's one less thing to tackle.

I am hoping to finish the bass drum up by the weekend. I'll share more pictures when it's complete!

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Hey...
"Someday you will find me"
"Caught beneath a landslide"
"In a champagne supernova"
?
 
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