FURTHER PROGRESS ON THE 26"

One of the major challenges with which I was faced concerning this 26" Ludwig Vistalite Marching Bass Drum was the logo badge.  Just as the beautiful blue vistalite shell had been carelessly covered with thick white paint, so the Ludwig badge was thoughtlessly "whited-out" and forgotten.

Fortunately I was able to salvage the badge, remove the paint and reattach it to the drum using a new replacement grommet.  As can be noted in the photo below, I positioned the badge in a perpendicular arrangement between the lugs as is customary on standard "drumkit" bass drums.  Because this is actually a marching bass drum, the badge was originally affixed in a parallel fashion, but I want this big boy to be a kick drum, not a marching drum.

I also cleaned and polished all of the lugs and they have now been re-mounted on the shell as well.  There is nothing interesting or exciting to mention about this minor step in the restoration process, so I'll just feature a moderately-entertaining pictorial representation:

Now on to my next major challenge: the wooden hoops.  This was a step that I did not anticipate would be all that difficult.  I was, as they say, quite wrong.  As it turns out, these two 26-inch hoops have been painted numerous times, so stripping them back down to the wood has been tiresome and tedious.  Under the black paint I found white.  Under the white was red.  Then gold.  Then maroon.  Then blue.  HOW MANY TIMES DID THEY CHANGE THE DAMB SCHOOL COLORS??!!

So as of now, I am still stripping paint off the hoops, and I am making quite a mess on the back patio.  But I am taking my time and doing it right.  I have plenty of time, as I have to wait for the new drum heads and other parts I ordered to arrive in the mail anyway.

I just thought you might like an update on where the project stands at the moment.