snare lacquer removal

opentune

Platinum Member
I bough this nice snare awhile ago for very cheap. Its a nice 6 ply Keller shell, and sounds great, but meh... I just don't like the red lacquer and am thinking of taking it down to a natural maple wood look.
Anybody removed the lacquer on their drums? Method? It seems quite hardy.
I was thinking to use a bit of paint remover to attack the lacquer then light sanding to get at the red stain, but maybe that will shave too much off the outer ply?

any advice? I realize I could just live with it but it might be a nice project

obelisksnare_zps24320536.jpg
 
I just don't like the red lacquer and am thinking of taking it down to a natural maple wood look.


Honestly? Insanity.

Just leave it alone, too much work and you'll never get to look that good. keep in mind the wood is stained, its not paint.

Add up your time and materials, better off selling and getting a natural maple finish drum.
 
I would take it apart, mask off the inside and take it to a body shop and thavethem buff and wax. It willl ook brand new

You will have do these steps even if you repaint.


Otherwise orbital sander with 200 will take it off, just keep moving or you will ruin the shell
 
I just don't like the red lacquer and am thinking of taking it down to a natural maple wood look.


Honestly? Insanity.

Just leave it alone, too much work and you'll never get to look that good. keep in mind the wood is stained, its not paint.

Add up your time and materials, better off selling and getting a natural maple finish drum.

ummm .....its insane to not like red lacquer? lol
ok guess i am then.
 
I would take it apart, mask off the inside and take it to a body shop and thavethem buff and wax. It willl ook brand new

You will have do these steps even if you repaint.


Otherwise orbital sander with 200 will take it off, just keep moving or you will ruin the shell

thanks! sounds like you've tried it.
 
I took the wrap of my older Yamaha kit and half of the top layer came with the wrap . Ihad to take what was left off. A small electric orbital sander with 200 works great. Just keep it moving . Mine wasn't stained ibderneath . You may have to take the 1st layer off as well to remove the stain (it goes in deeper in the wood).
Then 400 grit, 800 , 1200 , Heck,Go as smooth as you want yo go.
I did mine with just tung oil (8-9 costs) until I obtained the desired gloss.
I opted for that so in case there was a scratch or nick or something like that it would be easily repairable (light sanding and oil touch up ).
If you look up 80's Yamaha kit , there is a video link and you can see the kit (it is cheap wood and I am sure maple will look much better )
 
I took the wrap of my older Yamaha kit and half of the top layer came with the wrap . I had to take what was left off. A small electric orbital sander with 200 works great. Just keep it moving . Mine wasn't stained underneath . You may have to take the 1st layer off as well to remove the stain (it goes in deeper in the wood).
Then 400 grit, 800 , 1200 , Heck,Go as smooth as you want to go.
I did mine with just tung oil (8-9 costs) until I obtained the desired gloss.
I opted for that so in case there was a scratch or nick or something like that it would be easily repairable (light sanding and oil touch up ).
^^ Good advice here. When you've got the hoops off, a look at the top of the shell will show how much "meat" you've got on the first layer of veneer before you burn through.

I'd been considering overlaying a new veneer over the existing. You can get pressure sensitive (self-sticking) veneers just about anywhere, in almost any wood species you can imagine. The only sticking point (uhhh... sorry...) was if the head rim would still fit over the shell with the added layer of veneer. I suppose you could temporarily stick 4 to 6 shims around the top of the shell to simulate the thickness of the veneer.

See: http://woodworking.rockler.com/search#w=veneer&asug=&sli_uuid=&sli_sid= for some examples of what's available.

It wouldn't be a Guru steam-bent shell, but if you're careful, it might look almost as nice.

Good Luck, Have Fun! John
 
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If that is stain and then lacquer, the stain is into, not just on the wood and you may never get it all off to the point where you could have it clear wood. I would be careful.
 
ummm .....its insane to not like red lacquer? lol
ok guess i am then.


That wasn't your question.

Its obvious you've never refinished a drum b/f, because if you ever attempted to, you wouldn't be considering it on this drum.

Its what it is, someone else loves red lacquer.

An option is finish ply, the easiest route, but then look at your hardware/lugs, they'll look silly on nice new finish, whatever it is. In other words, what's the point really, sell it, just get another drum.
 
Red is one of those colors that is just about impossible to hide, unless you go very dark. You can strip the lacquer and bleach it out with TSP, but I don't think you'll ever get the red out, so to speak. At least not down to a clear natural yellowish maple.

Methelyne Chloride paint removers like Jasco will get it down to bare wood. The grain will be raised a bit but you can sand that down lightly as advised with 220 paper.

I would advise if you can't stand the red and want to go though the refinish process, to find an ebony stain and go basic black. The red bleeding though won't look that bad and you can still keep some natural wood grain to the look.
 
That wasn't your question.

Its obvious you've never refinished a drum b/f, because if you ever attempted to, you wouldn't be considering it on this drum.

Its what it is, someone else loves red lacquer.

An option is finish ply, the easiest route, but then look at your hardware/lugs, they'll look silly on nice new finish, whatever it is. In other words, what's the point really, sell it, just get another drum.

listen no reason to get so nasty.
if you cannot be of any constructive help then go type on another thread and get happy.
 
Red is one of those colors that is just about impossible to hide, unless you go very dark. You can strip the lacquer and bleach it out with TSP, but I don't think you'll ever get the red out, so to speak. At least not down to a clear natural yellowish maple.

Methelyne Chloride paint removers like Jasco will get it down to bare wood. The grain will be raised a bit but you can sand that down lightly as advised with 220 paper.

I would advise if you can't stand the red and want to go though the refinish process, to find an ebony stain and go basic black. The red bleeding though won't look that bad and you can still keep some natural wood grain to the look.

thanks. yes i agree ref is difficult to hide or cover. i was considering black - good idea ..... but apparently i'm insane if i don't like red!
 
I would be very reluctant to do this unless, as has been said, you plan to stain a darker color. Red stains penetrate pretty deeply, and you may well end up taking off the whole outer ply. There is no way to know what the grain looks like, or even be sure of grain orientation, on that second ply.

If you do decide to remove the lacquer and re-stain, I have found Jasco products to work well for stripping.
 
listen no reason to get so nasty.
if you cannot be of any constructive help then go type on another thread and get happy.


Constructive advise- Since you've never refinished a drum b/f, don't do it. You won't be able to match the quality of the finish that's already on there, its going to look like a beginners refinish job with used lugs. What's the point of effectively molesting a perfectly good drum finish and decreasing its value?

You want a project? I've refinished more than a few drums, I can tell you you'd be better off buying a raw KELLER shell drilled and edged, practice refinishing on that. Sell the OBELISK to help fund the project (buy new lugs), this drum is too integrally intact to be refinished IMO.

The work, material$ involved aren't going to be worth wrecking an already complete, not bad looking drum.

Its not insane you don't like red lacquer, its insane to waste time, money and labor trying to re-do someone's already good work... coming from someone who's already done it.

As time goes by you may come to find yourself liking red lacquer. Tastes change. I didn't care for blue drums for many years, wouldn't have a blue set. Guess what? I got one now.
 
Honestly, I'd sand off as much as you can and put a veneer over it. There's just too much that can go wrong if you're not experienced.
 
Constructive advise- Since you've never refinished a drum b/f, don't do it. You won't be able to match the quality of the finish that's already on there, its going to look like a beginners refinish job with used lugs. What's the point of effectively molesting a perfectly good drum finish and decreasing its value?

You want a project? I've refinished more than a few drums, I can tell you you'd be better off buying a raw KELLER shell drilled and edged, practice refinishing on that. Sell the OBELISK to help fund the project (buy new lugs), this drum is too integrally intact to be refinished IMO.

The work, material$ involved aren't going to be worth wrecking an already complete, not bad looking drum.

Its not insane you don't like red lacquer, its insane to waste time, money and labor trying to re-do someone's already good work... coming from someone who's already done it.

As time goes by you may come to find yourself liking red lacquer. Tastes change. I didn't care for blue drums for many years, wouldn't have a blue set. Guess what? I got one now.

I agree with you 100%
 
You're wrong. I've done some refinishing on a few drums. I've done other work with wood.

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=97070




The drum in your re-work pic was a wrap job, the OBELISK is stained. So you're going to go through exposing your body to breathing toxic chemicals again, all the work, $, mess and not end up with as good a finish as what someone has already done?




And NO, my point was I HAVE a project.


Didn't get that reading your first post, but then I am a little dyslexic.


I realize I could just live with it but it might be a nice project

'Might'? There's not 100% certainty there, along w/the fact you posted at all. The delivery of my opinion is clear- Don't do it, practice on something like a new KELLER shell. The OBELISK finish is clearly not in need of a re-do. You don't like red lacquer, pass it on to someone who does. Make some money on it, you said you got it cheap. Let the drum live its life out with its original integrity, why take that away, its not sick/in need?




I would take it apart, mask off the inside buff and wax. It will look brand new



This is what I would do, then sell it for a profit. Why wreck (what looks to be) a perfectly good factory finish????
 
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