Tama Stewart Copeland Maintenance

Stefan Brodsky

Senior Member
Picked up a used Tama Stewart Copeland COB snare about two years ago. Is in pretty good shape, though I was thinking of using some automotive (Meguiar's) chrome cleaner and polishing it up a bit. Doesn't look like there's any pitting. I'll take heads and rims off. ?-do I also need to remove the lugs and strainers? Has anyone done a similar cleaning to their metal snares? Thanks
 
You don't *have* to take the lugs and strainers off, but you will be able to do a more thorough job if you do. Either way, it should clean up nicely. Chrome over brass is not especially prone to pitting, so it is likely in good, sound shape.
 
It's probably worth the hassle of removing all of the hardware from the shell if you want to give it a good clean and polish.

:)
 
I’d say just use had tools though. No power drills when taking the screws out for disassembly. Take your time and be careful. Using power sometimes can strip things.
 
I’d say just use had tools though. No power drills when taking the screws out for disassembly. Take your time and be careful. Using power sometimes can strip things.

I'll second this. However, if you have one of those smaller electronics drills you could potentially use that. They have extremely low torque and are designed for screwing circuit boards down and closing plastic housings, they are very gentle. If not, screwdriver works just fine. I'm always partial to my snap-on rachet screwdriver for drum work.
 
I don’t recommend a normal polish as most brands have abrasive in it and will scratch the surface of the shell & hardware, leaving swirls all over the shell. I have used and recommend Nevr-Dull on metal shells and hardware. No scratching, no swirls.

If you want to actually buff out the drum, use jeweler’s red rouge and the appropriate buffing wheel.
 
Something else, I always finish metal work with a rub down from a cloth soaked in iso alcohol. This removes any residual moisture, grease, fingerprints, etc and gives a nice shine. I also do this for quick spot cleans.
 
Update: was able to clean up the Copeland signature, using Mother's Chrome Cleaner, which I bought at the auto parts store. Highly recommended, as it is a liquid, and not very abrasive. Didn't have to remove the lugs. Tried one, and there are two rubber gaskets, one on the lug, the other on the drum shell, so there really was no need to take all of them off. Nor did I have to remove the snare strainer, which I purchased new a few mos. back, or the butt plate, which I think is the original. Ditto for the Tama/Copeland badge. This is a pretty good unit, which I bought two years ago from my drum shop guy for $325/US. He had aquired it from another guy locally.
 
Update: was able to clean up the Copeland signature, using Mother's Chrome Cleaner, which I bought at the auto parts store. Highly recommended, as it is a liquid, and not very abrasive. Didn't have to remove the lugs. Tried one, and there are two rubber gaskets, one on the lug, the other on the drum shell, so there really was no need to take all of them off. Nor did I have to remove the snare strainer, which I purchased new a few mos. back, or the butt plate, which I think is the original. Ditto for the Tama/Copeland badge. This is a pretty good unit, which I bought two years ago from my drum shop guy for $325/US. He had aquired it from another guy locally.

Nice! Pics or it never happened haha
 
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