Drum refinishing guide

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Ok, I'll start this off with a brief background. It all begun when I saw this webpage about drum refinishing. I had a Pearl Export set with black wraps at that time and I was bored with everything black.

So I removed the wraps and lacquered the drums. A year later I wanted something different and stained them red. It's been one and a half years from that and I'm painting again. This time I had chosen to paint them white but I got a better idea during the process. There will be plenty of photos which you can click to enlarge them.

A short disclaimer: I won't take any responsibility for any actions inspired by this article. Remember to be careful with your drums, especially the bearing edges, which take damage easily. Let's start with the guide.

The process

The beginning: a 12"x10" tom I'm not that pleased with.

First step: Removing hardware

You'll most probably need a screwdriver to remove the lugs

All parts removed, the naked drumshell remaining

You'll be a master of the sanding technique before you've gotten thru the whole set so I'll only remind you that you must always sand in the direction of the wood grain and never against the grain. It's good to use a sanding block, you'll get a smoother result, especially if the surface is bumpy. I started off with 120-grit paper.

Before applying plaster or paint or anything, wipe the shell with a dry tissue or cloth, you don't want dust under the paint. The next 4 steps are optional. I did them on this drum because the wood surface wasn't flat, the drum had these small holes courtesy of the wood grain.

If you have scratches or dents on the shell, you can now fill them with plaster. To choose the right kind of material, ask your local store staff. Of course, using plaster is a bad idea if you're using stain and/or lacquer, because they will not hide the plaster.

Spread the stuff somewhat like this, it will fill holes. I'm not very good at this, it takes some practise and I haven't had that much. Don't expect you'll have a nice flat surface after this, you'll need to do a LOT more sanding, then you'll have a flat surface. Or round actually, but flat in a sense.

After going around the shell with the plaster, it looked like this. The instructions on the back of the tube told I'd have to wait for the stuff to dry for 2-3 hours. I was lucky enough to be refinishing my drums at my band rehearsal place and even more lucky to have another drumset in there so I spent a few hours playing along to a Red Hot Chili Peppers record.

2 hours passed and I got back on the job. Next step is sanding your ass off. Not literally, your hands will be sore after this thou. Because of inevitable excess plaster you need to use a sanding block to get good results. I used 120-grit paper again.

The next step: More sanding. This time I used 240-grit and didn't use the block. This will give you a smoother surface to paint on, which is good. I was ready to trade my soul for a sanding machine. When the sanding was finally done, I wiped the dust off the shell and the sweat off my forehead.

Up next is protecting the bearing edges and the inside of the shell. You can see in the pic how I've put masking tape around the bearing edge and a piece of newspaper inside.

Fold the rest of the masking tape inwards and no paint will ever get to the inside. A closer view.

I wiped the shell once more, because there's dust all over my hands and clothes. Now the drum is ready to be painted.

You'll feel less dizzy after painting if you use one of these...

My favorite part: the actual painting. This is pure pleasure compared to everything I've been thru to get here.

Read the instructions on the product you're using. I sprayed five thin coats at about three-minute intervals until the shell was plain and pure white.

12", 13" shells and the finished 10" shell drying. It takes a week for the white paint to dry before I can paint over it, so now I wait.

So, a week passed and I'm finally back on the job. I sand the white shell lightly with 600-grit and wipe the dust afterwards.

I didn't want to see all this trouble just to have drums that look ordinary. Here I'm marking a line 2,5 inches from the edge of the drum, that happens to be at the middle of the lug.

Then I put a piece of masking tape around the shell, using the marks I just made as a guide. I repeat the same process on the other edge of the drum.

After carefully placing the two strips of tape at the 2,5 inch marks, I fill the gap between them with more tape, resulting in what you see on the right.

The masking tape is in place, so I paint the exposed parts of the shell with black spray paint. Then wait for a few minutes and remove the masking tape.

I find the instructions on the materials I'm using a bit strange. You can apply a new color over the old paint either after 15 minutes or you must wait for a week. Well, at this point, the white paint underneath has been drying for a week and I sprayed the black 15 minutes ago. I guess it's ok to proceed with the metal flake lacquer... (this is not the first time so I know this works)

12" and 13" shells ready and drying. I'll let the paint dry good before putting the hardware back on.

It's been another week and the paint should be as dry as it will get. The screwholes needed a little opening, there was paint and plaster in them. I went thru all the holes with a small round file and the lugs would fit in their holes again.

Screwing the lugs..

Put the drumheads on it and you're done!

10", 13" and 12" toms done. The 10" tom is of newer make than the others and has non-bridged lugs. The 12" used to have bridged lugs like the 13" in this pic but I removed the bridges because I like to use the 10" and 12" toms in the front and they go better together this way.

Click here to see what I did with the bass drum!

Done, finally!