John, that paper will look cool I think. If its contact paper then you wouldnt spray lacquer on it. I think regular wall paper would be a bad idea, go with contact paper.

John,

That pattern should make for a pretty set, but I think all those water droplets will dampen the resonance. Cool Dude

I just picked up a jazz festival wrapped in this stuff and it looked pretty darn good. It took a close inspection for me to realize it wasn't real wood veneer. I don't think you will have any problems with wrinkling or bubbling, it took about an hour of careful work with a heat gun for me to remove it.

Cam

Why would it be a bad idea to lacquer over contact paper? I was thinking that I would brush it on, even possibly a shellac instead of lacquer. The point of a clear coat over the contact paper is both for shine and also for protection, so as the lugs don't move at all under tension and also protection against the heat - in case contact paper would respond to heat the same (or any other adverse) way that the "Sparklewrap" wrinkles up / melts in the heat.

Am I on the right track when it comes to protecting? The whole point is to cut cost - as this paper and some lacquer (or shellac) surely would not be very much compared to real genuine drum wrap.

Another idea is to go with the sparklewrap (like $69) and then clear coat (of something) over it so as to protect it from the heat and also from any damage from lug shift. Ideal would be if the lug is going to move at all, it should just slide over the surface of the finish, whatever type of finish it is. Has anyone ever tried to apply a protective clear coat (of some kind) over the sparklewrap stuff I wonder.

John

Contact paper allready has a smooth shiney finish in it. I doubt the lac will bite in and stick to it. But I could be wrong, Im thinking of the really glossy contact paper, what are you talking about?

Jeff C

Hey guys - I'm back (8 months later). I have recently bought 2 different wallpapers

First - maroon stripes - it is wallpaper - but I am hoping good quality...should get it in a couple days. It appears that the stripes are only about the size of a pencil thick (eraser on some sort of writing utensil can be seen at the bottom of one pic).

Next, I just snagged this up (green/pink/ant white silk) - so I can have 2 options - took a long time for me to decide to pull the trigger on this one - then it hit me - what the heck was I thinking waiting so long? It is SO HARD to find wallpaper that would look good on a kit....this even includes the antique white - which I am hoping is going to have a pearly reflection - hard to tell. No matter how it looks - if I can get a clear coat (lacquer or shellac) to stick to it - it is going to look amazing.

A bonus - is that when I am done with a kit - I will have plenty for another one (each of these 'items' included plenty of paper. I can either sell off the rest or keep it for future projects.

Both of these look quite purple. One description said it looks more maroon than the first pic. I am sure the silk one will look much less purple in person. Cameras can really distort colors, as we all know.

I decided against the WATER DROPLET contact paper (still on the bay though) because I figured out that the droplets themselves are too big (IMHO). A 'finer' print would have been a significant improvement.

I am pretty excited about both of these - I think either one will look great - but the deciding factor will be discovered in the testing phase with the lacquer/shellac whatever I decide to use - (any advise on that?).

I would think as far as asthetics go, you would have WAY more options, color and patern wise, than contact paper. I have no idea how it would hold up.

Z

WFL did that in the sorry-ass era of WWII snare drums...

Mike Curotto

I think I'd worry about getting a tear in the paper from the usual bumps and dings a drum can get in set-up etc.

Of course my wife would like something that matches the curtains.

I plan to go over the wallpaper with Lacquer or shellac, so I don't anticipate any issues like that. They will be just like any other drum that is, for example, stained and lacquered.

Still not sure to use for a clear coat - never done that before - but sure I will get some advice on here about that.

John