I also covered a mismatched MIJ stencil kit in the early '70s with contact paper. The problem with paper (contact or wallpaper) is that it buckles and wrinkles under the stress of the lugs. As the lugs are put under tension, they squeeze slightly upward toward the hoop creating a noticable wrinkle under the t-rod. Other than that, we thought it was a groovy idea at the time to change those old-fashioned pearl finishes of our fathers generation to cool wood grain contact paper. So will wallpaper work? Check out the snare recovered in cigar bands in the restoration section. I imagine if you cover the wallpaper with a good coat of sealer/leveler, it might work out. Keep us all posted with your results.
Yeah - if the lacquer is thick enough, then the lug will just slide up (a tad) on top of the lacquer - and never touch the paper ever at all. That would be (one of) the idea of applying the lacquer in the first place.
I almost scored some 3-ply w/ re-ring MIJ shells for FREE on a CL Free ad - but the lack of response from the poster leads me to believe that he already gave them away and just failed to remove the ad. The challenge then would be to find good hardware on the cheap.
Maybe one of those cheap black-wrapped kits that actually sounds good with good edges, heads, and tuning. I sold some TKO once - the guy painted them, put new heads on, and I was amazed at how good those sounded when I sat down on them. This easily turns into another discussion - so I will stop here......unless someone wants to share about a 'cheap' kit that they snagged up that turned out to sound awesome, which would give me a target brand perhaps. Of course some of these 'cheap' drums vary in quality depending on when they were made.
Anyway - this is something I will be exploring the next time I see an ugly, plain, but good hardwared kit with loads of potential.
I have a feeling that eventually here, there will be many more people to contribute to this discussion - as this MUST have been tried before.
John
