ludwig supersensitive

[ray]

anybody know anything about this snare drum? how much it might be worth? i paid $600 for it about 7 years ago. this drum might have gotten dropped while on the road--it sounded beautiful when i first got it, but now it has a nasty 'ring' that i can't get rid of. so i shelved it--haven't played it in a couple years. could the supersensitive hardware have gotten bent? the rim? the shell itself? it looks okay...are there some tricks to using the supersensitive hardware that i should know? any suggestions? is it worth having someone try to pound it back into shape? help!

DRUM SHELL: metal
DRUM FINISH: bronze
DRUM BADGE: Pre-serial Number Keystone Badge Early 1960 - 1963
DRUM DIMENSIONS: 6 1/2 x 14"
INTERIOR FINISH: natural metal
HARDWARE CONFIGURATION:
--supersensitive snare
--10 lugs
--triple flange hoop (i think?)
--the lugs aren't pictured on the VDG hardware page, so i'm not sure what they're called
DEFECTS: bent rim maybe? or dented shell? if so, it's not visible. though i think someone may have put a protective finish on the metal shell (you can see subtle "drips" in some places)

[ray]

another thing--actually i'm pretty sure the shell is brass, not bronze. anybody have any tips for cleaning brass shells? should i try to remove the protective coating or would that just damage the finish? $600 is quite an investment & i want to make sure i do things right. any ideas would be much appreciated, thanks--

[vadrums]

Yes, you can stripp the laquer finish off and then polish the shell(this is of course, after the drum is dissassembled). Then a good quality degreaser, Afta, to name one, and then a good re-laquer job.