While it may not be possible to reverse history, the opportunity to do the next best thing arose for me in the spring and summer of 2024.
I had purchased a 1920’s Ludwig & Ludwig White Enamel Professional model 5X14 snare drum from a US seller several months previous. From the photos provided before the time of sale, I knew this drum had seen better days, as evidenced by its very worn and chipped shell. At the same time, it was structurally sound and all of the aged hardware was original to this drum.
Evidently, the drum had originally been earmarked for coating with something called ‘Black Ebonized’ finish, in reality a black lacquer. Perhaps this drum ended up being a ‘Monday morning” job with a worker grabbing the wrong shell or L&L just had more orders at the time for white snare drums.
In any case, I decided this was one snare drum I wanted to restore as close to original condition as possible. And it also gave me the opportunity to use some of my own automotive and industrial coatings background and application experience.
The first step in the shell preparation, was to carefully remove the L&L oval badge with a small round file and then the entire old finish with coarse paper on an orbital sander. I then applied a high solids primer-surfacer, which was sanded progressively with medium all the way up to ultra fine. A clear sealer coat application was then followed by five coats of black lacquer. The final finishing touch came a week later by way of progressive compounding and final polishing processes.
All of the hardware was replated in copper finish. I then opted to give each piece a bit of my own patina chemical copper aging process before applying a gold transparent lacquer to arrest any further oxidation and provide a realistic reproduction of L&L’s Deluxe finish.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ve enjoyed the story of this 100 year-old beauty that I believe is now looking every bit more like a sweet newborn!