Awhile ago I bought a Mapex QR Jazz kit - 18 kick / 10/12/14 toms, and I really dug it. Everything but the finish. It had a gray sparkle wrap with purple flecks, and just looked "cheap" to me.
So, last week, I decided to give it some character. Usually, cheaper kits will have a wrap that is just held on with double sided tape, which is what I suspected I would have to deal with here. Nope. It was glued to the shell...all of it...and it was a bear to get off. Even with the heat gun, it took 3 evenings in my shop to get it all off.
In taking it off, of course it pulled some chunks of of the plies with it in a few places...mainly on the kick drum. So, I patched those spots with Bondo and moved on.
While I had them all torn down, I went ahead and re-cut the bearing edges. On the kick, I used a 1/8 round-over bit on the outer edge, and a 45 on the inside. On the floor tom, I did the same, but moved the bearing edge closer to the outer edge of the shell. On the smaller toms, I just did a double 45, favoring the inside of the shell.
I sanded the inside of the shells to 220 grit, and the bearing edges to 600, then used lacquer sanding sealer on all of it, followed by a coat of satin clear nitro lacquer.
For the finish on the outer shell, I sanded to 320 grit, sealed with B.I.N. pigmented shellac, then topcated with Crytslac Waterborne Lacquer in Black Satin. After sanding the sealer, I sprayed 2 coats of color, let dry (about an hour) wetsanded to 400 grit, then 3 more coats of color.
This is the first time I've ever tried this Crystalac product, and I'm totally impressed. Very easy to use, inexpensive, great coverage, sprays right out of the can, and builds very fast. Seems very resistant to scratching as well, but I'll know more after a few tear-downs and setups. It's easy to touch up, so that's another plus.
I stripped the bass hoops to bare wood (very much a pain in the banding groove!), misxed some stain that I use for guitar necks, then coated with a few coats of clear satin nitro lacquer. I like the contrast with the satin black.
I may add some custom pinstriping (the real kind...painted) later if I get bored, but for now, I am very much digging the look.
Here's a few pix:
BEFORE: (https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523569987%2F523569987.JPG&hash=6e4203c78ee55fae89c86b44f6f74b52b3021fc6)
Kick shell:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570092%2F523570092.jpg&hash=d9cf8b066e52dbb69ac2114d413f897315d90d9f)
Inside shell:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570216%2F523570216.jpg&hash=3f31e12a95c43c5b0773aff09a54997c1f375fdd)
Primer:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570272%2F523570272.jpg&hash=75b17c9f60b25f60b08d7efc6f19c170809bb64c)
Hoop:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570386%2F523570386.jpg&hash=013996cae7d8d4d70be11a723dd549909f1601a8)
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570474%2F523570474.jpg&hash=37ec6888eec2c1fae5d970d4b948ad76cd40931a)
Kit AFTER:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570512%2F523570512.jpg&hash=843a60d25338721eb01ddb85c9cde3f15b7c742b)
TOMS AFTER:
(https://drummercafe.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drivehq.com%2Ffile%2Fdf.aspx%2FshareID3031453%2FfileID523570541%2F523570541.jpg&hash=26f32c3e583ee95e1f240b57cc6929afbff5f464)
Good job man
I like the hoops. Contrast is nice against the black