Stain or no stain?

Hey guys! I just finished my test drum. I am pretty happy with the results.

I have heard people say that poplar hardwood has no grain and is not suited for drum shell maufacturing. I disagree. A 5pc shell pack for $300!?!?

Okay...do I go darker or does this look good au naturel'? Whatta ya think?' alt='>'>

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Did you make that shell?

I like it the way it is, and if you wanted to go darker, you'd have to sand off the finish anyway.

One problem I do see is there hasn't been enough leveling and sanding to produce a nice glossy finish, I can still see a pretty rough texture. What kind of finish procedure did you use?

This is just a test drum. I won't be using it in my 4pc. set up.

It is a Pearl Forum poplar shell. I could've taken more time with it. I started the sanding process with 120gt and went to 320gt, 4coats of minwax polycrylic gloss, sanding 320 between coats. The pix are kinda crappy. It does have a real nice glossy shine...but yeah..I will take more time with the other 4 drums and go 7 coats with the final coat sprayed.

Careful with the polycrylic...I ruined a guitar trying to spray that stuff. Didn't work well for me at all, but others had better experiences.

Have you stripped the wrap off all the other drums? When I stripped a cheap kit, each drum looked completely different.

HB, I'd stay natural. Jarick's right about you owning that finish unless you strip it. If your never gonna use it in the kit- oh well.

Two things I do know. If you intend on finishing say six or seven coats, either spray all of 'em or none of 'em. You'll never get all of the brush marks out from the previous coats that the final sprayed on coat will hide 'em. It will look brushed too. Secondly, and maybe you know all of this, Polyacrylic, or, what I prefer Polyurethane, is a bitch to spray. You'll need an HVLP pump or really good quality cup gun set-up. It runs and sags very easily.

If you're intending on aerosol- don't it's garbage. There's not enough solids in it to allow it to be durable. Plus the over spray will float around the the opposite side of the drum that you already sprayed and leave it grainy. If you can, go with a clear lacquer. The thinner in it is so hot that if you leave any dust from sanding, when the wet lacquer hits it, it re-activates the dust and it melts into the finish. Plus it dries so fast, if your humidity and temperature is right in your finishing room, you can apply multiple coats in a few hours. Sorry for being so long winded.

Long story short:

Deft Lacquer (aerosol) >>>>>>>>> Polycrylic (aerosol)

Deft:

No pics of the Les Paul I ruined with Polycrylic, but it took weeks of citrus stripper, a scraper, and a wire brush to get that crap off. Imagine milky-bluish-white rubber on a guitar.

Thanks Marko! How easy is the lacquer to work with? I have noted that the water based polycrylic Minwax does have a tendency to run and sag alittle.

I will take your advice and not spray on the finish. I want to know more about lacquer.

Lacquer needs to be done either outside or in a VERY well ventilated area.

The drum I posted was done using a few coats of Minwax sanding sealer (hand applied with cotton rags), wet sanded at I believe 400 grit, then I used two cans of Deft high gloss lacquer. Sprayed a couple thin coats, dry for a couple hours, check for dust and remove with a tacky cloth, repeat. I sprayed mine outside on a trash can on a sunny day.

Wetsand at 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, then rubbing compound, then fine polish, then let it sit a few weeks, then wax.

Not bad for $5 rattle cans.

Edit: another nice thing about lacquer, if it needs repair or touch ups, you can respray it, wetsand, and you're good to go.

That's a nice job Jarick! I did finishing for a living for 20+ years and I've never been a huge fan of aerosols. But I must admit yours look very sweet. Oh, and the only drums I ever did were my sons first kit, Black w/ Pearl essence in it. They were pretty nice- looked Midnight blue, but he sold 'em.

HB- When I was speaking of lacquer, I meant like industrial or manufacturing lacquer that a furniture finisher would use. Any of the major lines carry it, Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and so on. It's a great product but can be tricky to use. Jarick's right, good ventilation is key, even with an oil base, plus use a respirator or you'll be paint drunk- really. I've been there. Also, anytime you finish, stay with the thinner that the base is for your sealer and finish coats. Mineral spirits with Polyurethane, lacquer thinner with lacquer. Lacquer does not like high humidity or water. Very bad- and Will make it cloud. If an oil such as mineral spirits or naptha get into contact with the finish surface, it may fish eye, little oval circles in the finish.

If you have the environment, equipment and time, it's a great finish. See if the paint store rep will give you a crash course. There maybe a catalyst you need to use.

If this is way too technical, go Jarick's route. It seems to have worked well for him. Or go with the Polyurethane, just spray light coates. Too heavy and it will sag.

One final note. Do not spray a thinner based product in a room with an open flame, like a water heater or furnace. It will cause a flash explosion. Not good, I've seen it happen. Not to me, but to some one who should have known better. PM me if you have questions. marko

Yeah I didn't want to invest in the HPLV gun, huge tank, and all the hassle, so I went rattle cans.

Check out Ghostnote.net and Drumshed.org for more info, that's where I learned everything I know about it, which is admittedly little.

BTW, the stain was Transfast water based dye and the fade was sprayed with an airbrush. Whole finish cost me maybe $50 with all the materials.

Beautiful job Jarick!

I removed the wrap from the snare drum. The grain looks beautiful!. I love the sound of my pdp kit, but I'll tell you, these Pearl Forums are sounding really nice for the $300 outlay. Makes me wonder.....It's gotta be the shells!

I love the look of the Forum lugs. No idea why. Just minimalist inside me I guess. They're like a cross between Baltimores and Starclassics.

meh,

the smell of lacquer in the morning,reminds me of.......Victory.

and Taco's ........?

Marko2,you really know your stuff mate.You walk the walk and talk the talk.

Lacquer,when "cured" is one of THE most durable,hardest finishes there is.

Even for furniture.

Why d'ya think they lacquer piano's?

Piano Black Lacquer just has a ring to it,yeah?

Later.

Impressive,oh green one.

Jarik....

Do you like the Tama "Spartan" lugs?

standby....

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&base_pid=443198&index=1

:love::evil::poke:

Drumstix61, I'm blushing and the room just got smaller.

No {censored}, Niacin Flush and my head swelled.

The Tama Warlord is bad as {censored}!:evil:

Drumstix61, I'm blushing and the room just got smaller. No {censored}, Niacin Flush and my head swelled. The Tama Warlord is bad as {censored}! :evil:

No KIddin' Brudda....

I WILL have those lugs.......

Jarik.... Do you like the Tama "Spartan" lugs? standby.... http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&base_pid=443198&index=1 :love: :evil::poke:

:rolleyes:garrish:rolleyes:

DARKER!!!!!:love:

It looks like you could sand down the area where the ply ends, it looks like a sudden edge. (that was horribly worded)

Lacquer needs to be done either outside or in a VERY well ventilated area. The drum I posted was done using a few coats of Minwax sanding sealer (hand applied with cotton rags), wet sanded at I believe 400 grit, then I used two cans of Deft high gloss lacquer. Sprayed a couple thin coats, dry for a couple hours, check for dust and remove with a tacky cloth, repeat. I sprayed mine outside on a trash can on a sunny day. Wetsand at 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, then rubbing compound, then fine polish, then let it sit a few weeks, then wax. Not bad for $5 rattle cans. Edit: another nice thing about lacquer, if it needs repair or touch ups, you can respray it, wetsand, and you're good to go.

If you have a decent spraygun, this stuff is FREAKIN PHENOMENAL! I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with it. I was VERY skeptical at first but now I'm a believer. Oxford Ultima water based spray lacquer. Nowhere near the amount of stinky fumes and the best part is the water cleanup. It looks and sprays every bit as good as solvent based but without the hassle. I've gone through 2 quarts to see if I like it and I did so I ordered a gallon yesterday.

http://www.targetcoatings.com/oxford-spray-lacquer.html

Wow. Hadn't seen that yet. Water based lacquer, being old school it sounds like an oxymoron. I may try that on my next refinishing whatever project if I can get my hands on it.

WERD. I have been liking the water based stuff for the ease of clean up, and the fact that it ain't puttin' a hurt on my nose. I've been getting decent results. If I were doing a set of custom Keller shells, I'd be more apt to goin the extra...but, I'm just trying to spruce up my Pearl Forum shell pack.

Jarik.... Do you like the Tama "Spartan" lugs? standby.... http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&base_pid=443198&index=1 :love: :evil::poke:

Ugh, God no! Those things look gaudy.

It's all about the clean lines...

Yeah I stumbled across water-based lacquer, and haven't used it, but in Minnesota it'd be a real treat. Don't need the hardcore ventilation, and it gets cold here...

But the closest I got to a spray gun was a Harbor Freight $15 airbrush and a 5 gal air compressor...

Yeah I stumbled across water-based lacquer, and haven't used it, but in Minnesota it'd be a real treat. Don't need the hardcore ventilation, and it gets cold here... But the closest I got to a spray gun was a Harbor Freight $15 airbrush and a 5 gal air compressor...

I:love: Harbor Freight tools! I was in the Twin cities last weekend for a gig..

-5 degrees!!!