Refinish

Here's a list of the tools to use:

Electric drill
Small hammer
Electric screwdriver
Small screwdriver
Two sharp thin nails
Workmate workbench
Socket for removing airhole
Towels for padding
Window cleaner and soft cotton cloth for polishing the wrap once it was fitted

The first thing to do, naturally, is remove the heads and rims. Then remove all the lugs. A word of advice - have a container handy to drop all the screws, washers, lugs, tension rods and whatever else into. It's so easy to lose a screw or washer on a garage floor.

Next, remove the badge and sound vent (or air hole). Some companies combine the badge and sound vent. The sound vent is ridiculously easy to remove.

The airhole is two pieces. A female that goes in from the inside of the drum and the male that has a smaller shank that secures from the outside through the larger shank. Simply tap it out from the inside of the drum by placing an appropriate size socket on the inside shanks exposed rim and tap using a hammer. It is super easy to get them out. Putting them back in easy also. You need to pad a table. Press the two together as best you can by hand and then lay the drum airhole down on the padded table. Use a larger socket to cover the larger diameter inside shank and then tap them together.

Removing the badge is a little more awkward, surprisingly. It looks simple enough - four little screws, one at each corner of the badge. Uunscrew them, don't expect the badge to just fall off. No such luck. It's glued on as well. Be very careful at this point, if you want to preserve your badge, and current finish, in pristine condition. Prise up one corner or edge of the badge, and now use a large dollop of commonsense. Don't try to rip the badge off. Grab a hairdryer, and direct a jet of warm air at the edge of the badge that you've loosened slightly. The hot air will soften the glue. It takes a little while, so be patient, pry up a little more of the badge, more hot air, pry up a little bit more...it takes about 15 minutes to get the badge off without
damaging it. There will be a little residue of glue left on the drum. More hot air and gentle finger friction (rubbing the glue spots with my fingers) soon got rid of it. Nail varnish remover, too, will shift it, but just be careful with it in case it also marks the lacquer.

But how would I find those same holes for the badge screws when the new wrap was on? Well, first, using a 1/16" bit, drill the badge screw holes right through the shell. The reason for this will be obvious later.

Tape some protective padding to the tom at the point where it might accidentally make contact with the snare during a gig. Don't scratch the lacquer finish. Use good gaffa tape to fix the padding to the drum. The padding certainly prevents the tom being scratched by the snare, but the gaffa tape, when removed, leaves a sticky residue. Guess what shifts that? Not soap, not water, not heat, but...vegetable oil. Take a piece of soft cloth, pour a little vegetable oil on to the cloth, and rub it over the gaffa tape glue residue. It wasn't effective on the glue that had been used to stick the badge on, but on the gaffa tape glue, it worked perfectly.

The next thing to do is clean up and polish all the lugs, rims, hoops and ISS mount.

First, you have to figure out exactly where you want the seam to be. Having it in line with the lugs would both strengthen the seam and hide it to a degree. Try a couple of "dry runs", wrapping the cover round the shell, making sure it is lined up ok, and then make a tiny mark with a pencil on the bearing edge where you want to have the seam. Press the sticky edge down and that's it! One recovered drum. Check to make sure the heads go on ok. The next step is to leave the drum overnight.

Next day, check along the wrap seam for any lifting. So, time to drill the holes through the finish for the lugs, badge and airhole. Use a very sharp nail, press from the inside of the drum out through the holes in the shell, to make a little raised mark on the new wrap, then press the nail onto the little raised mark from the outside of the drum to leave a little indentation in the new wrap. This would give the drill bit a head start, and prevent it slipping across the new wrap gouging big lumps out of it. Using the smallest drill bit you have (1/16"), drill a hole through the wrap at each indentation. Now know where all the holes in the shell are situated. Using progressively bigger drill bits, make the little holes in the new wrap bigger until they are the same size as the holes for the lugs in the shell. Use the same method to make the airhole in the new finish.

A quick "DON'T PANIC!" here - once you had the holes for the lugs all drilled, try one of the screws which holds the lugs on to make sure it was long enough to go through the now-thicker shell/wrap. Of course, don't protrude through the shell. The part of the lugs that screw, are actually recessed into the shell, so put the lug in place on the shell, the screws will fit fine.

Next, refit the airhole, using the method described previously.

Remember, drill right through the shell using a tiny drill bit at the badge screw holes. This is to allow you to find the same holes once the new wrap is fitted. Using the same tiny drill bit, by hand, from the inside of the shell through the holes is where you drill, make four little marks on the wrap. Now you'll see where the badge screw holes are. Then from the outside of the shell, make four little indentations in the wrap where the holes for the badge screws are. Last step - screw the badge back on. Take great care. Have a towel or something protecting the wrap on the drum when screwing the badge back on.

Lastly, refit the heads, rims and mount.

The other two toms are refinished in exactly the same way.

The bass drum is a little different. The wrap comes in two parts - one small part and one larger sheet. The smaller piece has to be fitted first, to the bottom of the bass drum shell. This is the only time that you will have to tape any of the covering on to the drum itself. On the three toms, the wrap is overlapped and taped to itself. Again, just take your time, make a little mark on the bearing edge of the bass drum where you want the edge to be, making sure that the wrap is perfectly centred on the shell, and stuck one side down, then turn the drum round, pull the wrap tight and stick the other side down. Now you have to fit the larger piece. Stick it into place.

Now it is just a question of boring holes through the wrap and fitting the spurs, lugs, airhole and badge. This is really easy, as you can work from the inside of the drum. It takes a little while, but be extremely careful. Get everything screwed back into place. One thing to note - don't screw the fittings on really tightly, as it can cause the wrap to bubble. Screw them just tight enough to be...well...tight enough.

The only thing left to do now is to fit the hoops and heads. That's the kit completely finished. It can take a couple of days, and none of it is hard work.