I bought a set of three Anheier cable drums that were built on some old Ludwig/WFL copper bowls. The 32" was a polished 8-lug bowl at one time, and then when it was converted to cable, they made it 6 -lug. I decided to only refinish the hoop on that drum. The lugs are chrome on the 32" and aluminum on the 28" and 25". On the middle pair, I refinished the steel plates and hoops, polished the lugs, and stripped the copper paint from both the inside and outside of the bowls. I certainly learned a lot from this project and also spent a lot of time and money on it. Given the chance to do this again, I will pass it up! I'm glad I finished...
The 25" bowl was finished first since I actually needed to use it in several concerts. After stripping the bowl of its paint with Tuff-Job Aircraft Remover, I cleaned the copper with a mix of flour, salt and vinegar. I then polished the bowls with a black buffing compound, followed by a red rouge and blue jewelers compound. The 25" looked fantastic before I put the finish on. The 28" never really became shiny, but it still matches the 25" perfectly. About the finish - I purchased EverBrite ProtectaClear with very high hopes that it was a thin finish that would look great. It does on the buffed aluminum lugs, but it bubbled on the copper bowl. It pretty much ruined the finish on the 25", but I was able to salvage it and just spray lacquer. I can only hope that it stands the test of time and doesn't tarnish within a few years. The 28" was just straight lacquer.
After refinishing the inside and out (I didn't buff the inside), I applied new teflon tape and new Remo Renaissance Hazy timpani heads. They sound and look great!
 32" Hinger Anheier Conversion |
 Notice the copper paint. |
 Notice the pale colored aluminum lug |
 The hoops were a pinkish/red color. |
 Top side view. |
 In view with my other projects! |
 Being used for Salome. |
 "DSW 11-5-90" Who is DSW? |
 Inside view before stripping. |
 Removing teflon tape (that was crusty!) |
 No steel support rings here! |
 Bare bowl. |
 "P-178" and some other writing. |
 Bottom of bowl before being stripped. |
 Scratches everywhere! |
 Preparing to jump in the deep end... |
 Initial stripping removed paint and not dirt. |
 Copper cleaner paste. |
 Took that dirt right off! |
 My patio before I made a huge mess. |
 Tuff-Job doing its job. |
 I let it sit a few minutes too long. |
 Cleaning off the cleaner was hard. |
 Mixing more copper cleaner paste. |
 Notice the green patina. |
 It's very dark - almost black. |
 "Sea green?" |
 Scraping it out. |
 Looks really nice! |
 I thought I could get a job frosting cakes.. |