Question about cleaning inside of drums

[hungovermorning]

I have a unnamed 60's blue sparkle kit made in Japan and it's obviously been around the block/city a few times. She still sounds like a champ but the wood inside the drums is greyish colored. What can I do to clean this untreated wood safely and should it be finished in any manner? Thanks!

[Brad_C]

I wouldn't touch the wood inside the drums because on the old japanease drums the shells are very weak, as for the wrap or finish I would just use some kind of light non corosive cleaner, there are actual products found at music stores for this task.

[hungovermorning]

So there's nothing at all I can do about it? I was just going to use guitar polish and a tee shirt for the outside, the grey just kills me...

[spitfire909x]

There is one way to solve this problem.











Black drumheads.

[hungovermorning]

Originally Posted by spitfire909x

There is one way to solve this problem.


Black drumheads.

Ha! Like turning up your stereo when your car gets a rattle.

[hungovermorning]

What worked: after a light cleaning with a damp sponge, lemon oil. Definitely not looking like new, but significant improvement. Just thought I'd share.

[PhilGood]

Murphy's oil soap.

Just an after-thought...

Actually, I had an old Tempro kit back in the early 80's. I just sanded the inside and re-varnished it. I also re-did the bearing edges at the same time and then coated them with parafin wax.

It was OK. Made them sound better. Painting the insides of the shells is also an option. Doesn't hurt it so long as it's a thin coat. It can also help seal the drums from moisture.