Hi to All, 
 
I don't share much on this forum but in this case, I wanted you to know that I just finished re-wrapping my old drum kit.
I bought this set of Pearl fiberglass shell drums in 1973 from Mike's Drum Shop in Santa Barbara, Ca.  He was my drum teacher way back in the 60's.  
I have owed an old hand painted Slingerland kit (with sparkles applied while the paint was still wet), a cheap Japanese set with tin cmbals (the ones that dent when you hit them), a beautiful Sonor it that lasted from 1967-73.  
 
I bought the Pearl kit before I moved up to Northern California to play in a jazz/blues group called "Harvest".
 
These drums have been with me for decades.  I used them in many studios in L.A. as a studio drummer, on Sue Saad & The Next albums, movie tracks, and demos.  After all these years, the original "pearl white finish" dulled to a muted yellow.  Afterall, they are over 37 years old!  
 
So I researched the web and found Jammin Sam's drum wrap shope and bought the white pearl wrap and have spent the last two weeks working on this project.
I had to take all the lugs and parts off, clean the chrome, lube the scress, WD40 where applicable, tear off the old finish, clean up the shells, measure and order the wrap, install it, and today I finished.  
 
I am very happy with the result.  The picture I took gives you a basic idea of the finished product.  I wanted the white pearl to match those of Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Ed Shawnessy, and Louie Bellson.  Those are my traditional jazz heroes.
 
Now I want to put together a small jazz group and play a 4 piece kit.  I know my studio rock drumming days are over and now I am ready to apply what I have learned to some bebop jazz if I can find the players around my area. 
 
I will continue to record my drums on my own songs and others.  The shells are perfectly round after all these years and I love the sound of these drums. 
 
So there you have it.  My little project that I wanted to share with you - my online pals.  
 
Life is good.
 
Rimshot
 
Here's a picture:

 
http://screencast.com/t/L3o5KfyiS
 

The drums look great.  Good luck finding compatible players for your jazz band.  

Noice!

Very cool, Rimshot. They look great.

They look great.  Classic.  I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

Looks factory to me.
I've seen that done in the music store I grew up taking guitar lessons at. Pretty tedious job.
 
I saw a program the other day about a place that builds fish tanks...any kind of tank.
I don't remember where their customer was as they travel anywhere but they owned a music store and wanted a drum kit fish tank(s).
It was a Yamaha double bass kit. They made all the toms fresh water and the double bass drums salt water. All the filters and such were in the riser.
They had electronic drum pads isolated on the drums to prevent vibration from killing the fish so it was a kit that could be played.
 
 
 

Thanks to all for your nice comments.  I am pretty much in awe how this project turned out.  It was tedious but well work resurrecting my kit.  I can't wait to show it off live sometime in the future.  
 
Did you know that rubbing aluminum foil on rusted chrome will remove it?  There is a chemical reaction between the metals and it works great.  I folded a piece of foil into a small square, dipped it in water to give it some sliding action and used it on all hardward.  I really works.  I then followed up with chrome polish.
 
Also, I took all the rusted lug nuts and bolts and put them in vinegar for 3-4 hours.  The vinegar removes all the rust and stains!  I then neutralized the acid by washing in baking soda, clear water and then dried them.  I then spray WD40 over them.  They also turned out great.  
 
Rimshot

Foil does work.
 
I've used 00000 Steel wool with WD-40 and had excellent results- works real good at cleaning chrome bumpers...gets the bugs off easy.
 
This is what I like too...good stuff.

Hey Spacey, 
 
Is that stuff good for cymbals as well?  They seem to be the hardest to clean!
 

Wow, Jimmy, the drums look FANTASTIC, they look brand new!  Definitely a worthwhile project sprucing up a treasured instrument that has served you well for so long.
 
I'm in the similar process of completely disassembling and stripping down my 1971 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with a custom neck that I've had since I was a kid.  I'm having it custom painted for the second time and then replacing all the hardware, pickups, electronics, tuners etc.  I'm looking forward to getting it back into tiptop shape and giving it a new look and more modern sound.
 
Quick story, that might interest you.  A former drummer from my last cover band has a massive drum set made by Pearl in the mid 1950s, back before they even started selling the drums under the "Pearl" name.  Those shells were really thick and heavy and sounded fantastic, but man they were as loud as shooting off a canon!  He was a big guy and a really heavy hitter too, so half the time our sound man had the eight mics on his kit barely turned on most nights.
 
Anyway, congratulations and really nice work on that great looking kit, have fun playing 'em!
Bob