Thoughts on different white colors for kits? Not satin flame or pearl or oyster, but solid white

microkit

Senior Member
I remember first learning about the different blacks for car paint, metallic/flat/gloss/green black/blue black etc. Has anyone compared different whites? I'm interested in rehabbing shells if I get a pro or mid-range shell pack cheap enough, and I don't love the generic white wrap I've seen. Tama Sugar White, satin, sparkle, whatever. I've even debated white tolex, which is satin, like faux leather, the stuff they cover guitar amps with. I'd love to do a Masters Redline type kit, but between the gaskets and painted parts, I'd be much better off buying a Starclassic or MCX/Sessions, even with a refinish. Thanks!

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If I was going to do white, I'd just get some Bumwrap. If it's white, chances are you aren't going to be able to tell the "kind of white" it is from 6 feet away, never mind from the audience's point of view. Also, if it's on a computer color wheel, you can get whatever shade of white you like. If you don't like the Bumwrap after a few years, just peel it off. Seems like a textured, leather-like finish in white would look really bad if dust hit it. But that's just me.
 
Tama made a Starclassic birch/bubinga in satin white outfitted with smokey gray nickel hardware that I thought was beautiful. The pic you have shows glossy white, but the satin looks great, too.
 
I'll prequalify by saying that I've never seen a single color wrap that I liked. All the colors of the shells in those pics look mostly the same to me.

Pure vanilla.

If they made a highly polished piano black lacquer finish, only in white, I might like that.
 
Noble and Cooley did a white lacquer kit with rainbow glitter that just pops under the lights . one of my all time favourite finishes.
Drum Center Portsmouth had posted some pics.
 
I obviously like white drum kits. My signia isn't pure white, slightly cream, slightly pearlescent, it looks gorgeous under the spots. I love it.
I don't like flat or satin colour, though satin white looks nice on the catalog (I'm thinking of the Renown RN1 satin white), I'm not sure it'll sustain the test of time.
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White kits look great under lights. From a lighting perspective, they are only behind silver-sparkle and acrylic IMHO. You can literally have full color spectrum control over each independent element of the kit.

Off stage, they have the same risky aesthetic as a white suit. Some drummers get a Ricardo Montalbán vibe, some get Truman Capote, while an unfortunate few get Colonel Sanders.
 
Tama used to offer a white finish that I deeply dig. White Silk, it was offered a few years on the star classic line.
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Keep in mind that white will yellow over time if not maintained. My white 70's Pearl kit looks like smokers teeth now. It isn't just wraps that yellow either, finishes will do it also.
 
I love white kits, main kit is White Marine Pearl, the wrap looks really classy. Has that aged look brand new. Looks amazing under lights.

Had a white mother of pearl kit too for years which I sold a few months back.
 
Keep in mind that white will yellow over time if not maintained. My white 70's Pearl kit looks like smokers teeth now. It isn't just wraps that yellow either, finishes will do it also.
Ask Uncle Larry to post the name of the product he used to polish and revive his white kit..
 
I love white kits, main kit is White Marine Pearl, the wrap looks really classy.

I may have weird tastes, but I love it when there's a yellowed WMP finish. The only bad thing is that alot of these finishes don't "yellow" at the same rate. Someone out there is now making a yellow'ed WMP finish, and it looks stellar.
 
I may have weird tastes, but I love it when there's a yellowed WMP finish. The only bad thing is that alot of these finishes don't "yellow" at the same rate. Someone out there is now making a yellow'ed WMP finish, and it looks stellar.

I'd give body parts for a proper yellowed WMP radioking.

Only way to get em that yellow is to play em in smoky rooms for decades. The smoking ban decimated a lot of venues near me but I don't miss some of the places I used to play that stunk and made you stink when you got home.
 

Anybody wanting to unyellow wrapped (not lacqured) finishes read the above thread.

It reverses the chemical process that yellowed them in the first place using peroxide a gel you make up, supercharge with oxyclean, and put under bright direct sunlight for like 12 hours.
 
I'd give body parts for a proper yellowed WMP radioking.

Only way to get em that yellow is to play em in smoky rooms for decades. The smoking ban decimated a lot of venues near me but I don't miss some of the places I used to play that stunk and made you stink when you got home.

I unyellowed a WMP wrap and the yellowing was under the surface, not on it.
 
I'd give body parts for a proper yellowed WMP radioking.


Only way to get em that yellow is to play em in smoky rooms for decades.

I may be wrong, but I've heard that if you leave them out in the sun, they will yellow up.

You would always buy a radioking and wrap in vintage marine pearl. They make a wrap that looks like it.
 
Best white kit I’ve ever seen (the badges are bad, though. I much prefer their decals).

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I can't imagine that was a nice job. How the hell did it get under the wrap?
UV light is the culprit that causes yellowing. The light penetrates the surface and discolors it by a chemical reaction.
I know how to reverse that reaction. The results were perfect.
 
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