to refinish....or not to refinish

[70 ludwig]

Hey dudes,

I just bought a 70 ludwig kit (craigslist) in natural that is really laquer checked and chipped on all the drums. Plus the 13" is kinda beat and the badge is trashed. The drums are a nice amber color and still look pretty freaking cool! My question is ...should I keep them original and live with the "old" look?? or strip them down and have them re-shot and laquered with an amber-ish color to match how they look now...only new and beautiful? I'm leaning towards the refin but I know that refinned guitars are seriously devalued,....also true of vintage drums?? or not? I'm keeping the drums forever so resale is not an issue for me but maybe it would be a serious "vintage drum" NO NO. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks,

DC / Seattle
drums are;
24,13,16,18.

[Jaye]

Can you post a pic ? We can see how beat up it is.

Personally...if your intent is to refinish 'em in an almost identical shade to what they are/were...then I say do it, as long as it's a good, solid, clean job.

...especially if you really are gonna keep 'em and not try to turn 'em around.

Sounds like a nice, classic rig.

[70 ludwig]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking too. I have some pics, I'll try to add one to this post.
You can't see the bad side of the 13 in this shot but it definately needs some attention.
Still a pretty good score though imo
Oh yeah, the snare is a Ludwig 14x10 marching snare from early 70s and it will stay blue sparkle, not messing with that.


Thanks for the reply:-)

[mcjnic]

Hey,
If your intent is resale, then you might want to be careful about what you do to it. If you intend on playing the kit, then you should dive on in. This past summer, I was in the same spot. I purchased a Ludwig Natural Maple kit that had been beat up. I did the refinish thing and it looked ok. Problem is, the gouges were deep and the badges were in BAD shape. So, I wrapped it with hi-bond tape. If I decide to unwrap it, no harm no foul. You might want to think about that. Here's the before and after. It plays great. Something to think about.

[tillerva]

mcjnic, those look pretty good before AND after!
I have a similar dillema, though the drum in question as is, is in very rough shape, but the wood has beautiful potential, inside and out. I see a heck of a lot of vintage drums, restored that still demand good prices, so I'd say it's a little different than guitars and the like.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2055/50/47/1371250302/n1371250302_236165_6821.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2055/50/47/1371250302/n1371250302_236166_7081.jpg

[big daddy]

A collector won't have any interest in refinished drums. A player on the other hand... will likely prefer the better looking kit. And if you are honest about the finish, if you do eventually decide to sell them, then I'd expect to get less $$$ for them. They are still Ludwig though, so I imagine you'd still get something reasonable for them.

They do look a bit beat to me, so I would probably refinish, if they were mine.

[mcjnic]

Hey,
You can do both. That's what I was pointing out. You can refinish them and if the shells are still dogged due to deep gashes (which was my case), you can then wrap them with hi-bond tape without too much fear of totally ruining the finish. If you decide to sell the drums to make a profit, then you can remove the wrap. Should work if you do it well. I've done it with no problems.

[big daddy]

Well, if you are considering a wrap, then I would leave the shells as they are, clean them up good and then just wrap them. At least that preserves the original finish if you later decide to unwrap them.

[70 ludwig]

Good points! The tape/wrap is a good idea imo cause the original finish is untouched like you said. So, if i were really thinking that someday I'll sell them and was worried about resale, that's probably what I'd do. BUT,,,,,I'll never sell this kit and the dude I have lined up to do the refin is reeeally good! So, I'll probably go ahead with it. There aren't any big gashes or deep wounds so that isn't a problem...and they should look amazing afterwards! I'll post some pics when it's done. Thanks for the suggestions:-)


DC

[kellyj]

Hi,
Good thread! I'm faced with the same issue except with a 60's Gretsch kit. I think I will go the high bond tape route. Where do you find this kina tape?
Kelly

[Jaye]

'dad and mcjnic won't wanna hear this from me AGAIN....but...I gotta be devil's advocate here.

I have renovated over 60 kits in the past 4 years...and I could never recommend the tape method of wrapping. It sounds great, it's not hard...but...eventually, you get out of it what you put into it. Over a short time, as the drums get moved from inside to outside, get in the sun, get left in the car or van overnight, etc....the wrap, being plastic, will expand and contract.

With glued-on wrap, there is adhesion over 100% of the shell surface so this movement is minimal. But with the tape method, only a small portion of wrap is actually adhered to the shell. The rest is held down by the lugs, spurs, mounts, etc. Over time, the wrap wil stay tight and fixed at the hardware and tape points....but will loosen/expand/contract in between.

It is, IMHO, a short-term solution...a quick way to make drums look good for a couple of years, maybe.

Sometimes you can't keep one foot on each side of the fence.

I say: make a decision. if you like natural finishes, then have it refinished. if you like wraps, them wrap it...but wrap it the way high-end pro makers and mfr's wrap it....with glue, and tape used only at the end seams.

OK..off of soapbox...sorry if I offended anyone...it's not my intent, just sharing my experience...:2Cents:

[big daddy]

Everything Jaye said is accurate. The wrap will suffer if left in extreme temps, but would you do this to a glued wrap, vintage set? I wouldn't. Also, if you invest in some good bags or hard cases, then the wrap should last more than "a few years", IMHO. I've seen import kits well over 10 to 15 years old which have the wrap taped instead of glued and the wrap was still in excellent shape. I assume that these drums were well cared for.

My old Cortley kit from the mid 70's, which I stripped and refinished sometime in the late 80's had no wrap issues other than all of the scratches I caused by not being careful and NOT using cases.

Plus one last advantage of the tape method which hasn't been touched on yet is, you could change your mind in 5 years and easily rewrap (with tape) in a different color/pattern. Hmmm... getting bored with the WMP, heck... lets try green sparkle. Bam, done!

[mcjnic]

As far as "where"...JamminSams is a wonderful supply site on the web. Not only does he have excellent quality wraps, but he also precuts it all for you. AND, he pre-applies the tape. It's really a no-brainer. I've not refinished that many kits (under 20). So, my experience is more limited than some of the other posters here. I've used JamminSams for several kits and he's done me right time and again. Maybe there are some other more experienced wrappers who could give even more insight or ideas. That's why I hit this forum. Unbelievable wealth of knowledge! Good luck on your kit. It sounds like either way, it will be sweet to play!