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Ludwig Acrolyte Finish

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Hi there,

I have an Ludwig Acrolyte snare (1965 by my reckoning - serial number 202935). The strainer, lugs and rims are all good, although the baseball bat style muffler is missing. I've been playing it regularly and it sounds great, but the time has come for me to see what i can do about restoring it a little.

The interior is mint, but as you can see in the photos, the exterior surface is pretty badly scratched up. I'm not sure what happened to it. It came into my possession in this state. It looks like the dull silver/grey finish has been completely scratched off in places, but i was wondering if anyone could tell me if there's any hope of restoring it back to how it once looked.

Also, if anyone has an appropriate baseball bat style muffler for sale please get in touch.

Best regards,

Neil.

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Posted on 18 years ago
#1
Posts: 5176 Threads: 188
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It looks like someone took steel wool to the finish. I'm not sure what could be done to really restore it because I think the original finish was just the basic raw aluminum alloy. The good news is that it won't matter to the sound and the Acrolite is a great sounding snare drum. The P-83 throwoff on yours is one of the mostly highly-praised and sought after throwoffs (no longer made, unfortunately). Scratched or not, you won't be able to buy a better sounding snare drum. I would just "restore" it by finding the right BB muffler...

The baseball bats appear fairly regularly on Ebay. You might have to PAY for a nice, complete one, though. I've seen them go for over fifty bucks!

"God is dead." -Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." -God
Posted on 18 years ago
#2
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Thanks for the advice, O-Lugs,

I wasn't sure if there was any hope for the finish. Whoever had it before me has really gone for it with the abrasive touch! I'll keep my eyes peeled for the muffler and continue digging the sound.

Best regards,

Neil.

Posted on 18 years ago
#3
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I've seen them in a 'natural finish'... a gray enamel finish.. and the newer ones have a black sparkle finish...pick your color or see if there is a shop near you that does powder coating...

Posted on 18 years ago
#4
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