Would it matter as long as you weren't going to eat it?

Mostly correct. Can also be absorbed though the skin. Wash hands with cold water if exposed (especially before handling food). Could also make a difference in disposal.

Sure, depending on what you're doing with the drum. If you're going to refinish it, you need to know how to handle and dispose of the old paint while protecting yourself in the process. Avoid contact with skin, and wear a proper respirator if a dust concern exists.

I can say never have seen lead based paint on Slingerland Duco's. Could be out there and other brands may vary. Wise to test first.

Creighton

Duco is the brand of the paint. Duco was the brand name for a type of DuPont industrial lacquer which was one of the first fast drying lacquer paints available in lots of colors. Its fast drying time made it popular with industrial users like car manufacturers and even drum companies. (DuCo = DUpont COlor). The reason you could only get model T's in black (although there were other colors available at some points of their production) was because black paint dried the quickest, but they'd still took a while to dry which was a production bottleneck. Duco's relatively fast drying time solved that issue.

Not sure on the lead content as I don't know that much about paint formulations. Nitro lacquer has plenty of hazards involved in its use but I don't recall lead content as being one of them.

I do recall PSA commercials on TV in the 60's when I was a kid about not eating paint chips...I always wondered "who IS eating them?"

I always thought that Duco stood for Dual Color!!

Cheers

Only in drumland...but that isn't the true origin of the name.

A vintage lacquer finished drum in a single color (or three or four colors) still has a Duco finish.

I learn something new everyday!! Thanks!!

Cheers

This is fascinating. I always wondered why the striped finish was called Duco - I thought Duco was only for cars: "Watch the duco, man..."

I love this place!