How To Polish a Snare Drum 

Make a beer keg drum!

ever since I graduated (I played percussion for 8 years) I've been missing being around drums and music for 4 years, but then I came accross this channel and it filled that gap missing in my lifeless soul lmao. It inspires me to set up my drumset and do what I love again, you tha best!

Dave I love all of your videos!They're all so informative and professional looking.Thanks for all the work bud.And congrats on 40k subs!

thank you so much for that lithium grease advice, i use it for multiple things now and it really holds so much more than average multi purpose grease.

COATED Remo cs dot FTW... well done sir Someone get the butter, cause that snare must be all "popcorn"

Good call on using some rubbing compound after the Brasso. It truly is worth it, my snare looks magnificent. Thanks.

Heyman, Just a Thank You for helping me take the scatterbrained-ness out of this process.. Managed to Significantly improve the general all around goodness of a 71' Slingerland 6.5 Sound King due to this vid, and the other about Out of Round hoops n' Such.. :) Seriously, Thanks much. Cheers!

Great video! I'd like to hear the snare and see the crispy new heads on it - so satisfying!

sick stuff man congrats on 40k!

Awesome. Super helpful to see and review the cleaning supplies. 👌👌

Great video! I'm about to redo a chrome snare, and this was a big help. Also, big props for the Innovative Percussion shirt you've worn in some of your other videos. I've been using their products since 2000, and I absolutely love IP!

These videos are soooooooooooooooo satisfying man

Hey there! Love your videos. Just curious if this would work for a brass snare that has a lot of oxidation? My hoops and lugs are totally clean because they were replaced by the previous owner of the drum but the shell itself has tons of brown spots that look like rust. Thank you in advance!

Awesome video David.

Hey man, thanks. Excellent video and tips!

I love these videos so much. It's really inspiring and makes you want to put in the effort to fix up old drums and make em great again. Can we get a video update of how this drum ended up sounding? I have a frankenstein kit from a friend, but the shells are covered in stickers and the legs on the kick drum are wonky, ALL fixable stuff, instead of sitting around dreaming about a rad kit, I should just take the time to make it into a rad kit! :)

Anybody else notice that David hit 40k subs? Congrats!

Thanks so much for this! Helped get my Pork Pie BOB looking incredible!

Fabuloso !!! Realmente un virtuoso nato !!!

Nice vid. That's a quality shine on that drum

dude you have a 10", 12", 13", 16", and multiple 14" snare drums. YOU SHOULD MAKE A SNARE DRUM DRUM KIT. That'd be sweet!

Btw, love the fact, everytime you fix a drum, you through a new head on. That feels so good.

Can you tell me what product i shoud use to clean my brass free floating snare drum please thanks

You might want to try Maguiers cleaner wax gently applied with 0000 steel wool. Let the wax dry on the shell and then buff with the blue shop towels. It does wonders and you have a pretty tough wax coat on the shell. You can buff the shell every couple of weeks and it goes right back to beautiful. Just don't bear down too hard when you cleaning the shell. Nen R' Dull works too!

I just got 70's thick steel yamaha snare. I need to do this and was thinking another day if you have tip for polishing steel drum. Good job! Greetings from Finland.

Great vid bro!

Do you have any videos on repairing sun or heat damage to shells? I've heard of using a blow dryer and a towel to rub them out...

Great vids and cool music -- Ever try steel wool to restore anything chromed?.. Not sure if the drum was polished or chromed... But steel wool the rims and hardware for sure.. Cleans up the rust/pitting.

hey david, can you show how i can a drumset upgreaden ? maybe u can help me or you have tips for tuning save and better hoops you know. thanks a lot for your videos.

DIY internal drum mic mounts!!! I made my own and love em.

I have a 70s Ludwig Supraphonic I would like to renovate like this. I will switch the original throw off to a new gibraltar dunnett throw off, clean it and then get whatever it needs. I have a problem with it though. The tension rods become loose after just a few hours of playing. What do I need to do in order to fix that?

Ya know, I was searching how to polish my snare drum on duckduckgo and this popped up so I clicked on it, then I saw that it was an rdavidr video and I was like "oh snap, I need not look further". keep up the great videos David

Awesome vid awesome music love it. That music reminds me of my drug tripping days

Hey David, I'm looking for new heads to use, I'm a Remo guy and always have been but I want a lot more tone from my drums. Also I want my kick to sound much 'warmer'? I want a low but not harsh sound, so I was wondering what you put inside your drum and if the ring you use is worth it, just wondering.. Thanks for the badass vids man!

Would the mineral spirits work on sticker residue? And would it work with wood shells? I put stickers on my first set of drums (I was a dumb kid, around 13, who thought it looked cool at the time leave me aloooooone) maybe 10 years ago, and I'm trying to clean them up to sell. I used Goo-Gone and WD-40 so far, and some came off really easily, and others left residue that I can't soak and scrape off. What do you think would work best in this situation? I'm hoping I won't have to sand it off. Again, trying to sell them so I'm trying to leave the original finish.

you should do a video comparing snare side heads whether it be hazy or regular weight or different types. it would be a good thing to know about

So the same process applies for the tuning rods? Do you take the grease out first or you go straight to brasso, rubbing compound and white lithium grease?

Great looking snare. Almost bought new rims all around for my kit cause they looked so shitty, gonna try brasso now..

Good Job !!!

Oh shit dude! You're on PhotoShop too?! I was starting to think I was the only one! Lonely no more!!! ( That Snare is scary shiny! ...nice Serif in the beginning√ )

love your music dude! what are the titles of the 2 tracks? thanks!

buen video ,excelente saludos..!

I'd love to know how you can fix chrome pitting without re-chroming - possible?

I just left a msg on previous site i just visited and guess what it was you and here u are again which is great , so my question is the same Ludwig supra needs deep and pro cleaning , i did all those home remedies trick but not happy i,m in California, how can i get in touch with u ?

friend I need some advice to remove stains like rust from a blackpanther snare brass gold, apparently it has transparent lacquer and not how to clean it helps

Will we see a video on how to clean bass pedal? Perhaps a double bass pedal?

I use fine steel wool to clean chrome snares and hoops gets it really clean. 👍

I have a slingerland chrome over wood kit that's beat to shit, would this method work for those shells as well?

I've used car wax to give my chrome hardware on my drums a nice shine. Works just like that rubbing compound!

What's the song in the beginning? I can't find it on your Soundcloud.

Can you make the same video but for bronze and brass snares, I've been looking for ways to clean mine

I needed this, thanks jajaja

Do you ever buff the drums with a drill attachment or do you prefer to do it by hand? p.s. I've gotten a lot of rust off rims with a soft steel wheel attachment. awesome video!

I have an idea for a project - find a cheap drumset, and cut the shells up to make a kit in the style of one of those new C&C Superflyer kits. I want to take on this project myself, but I am stuck in my apartment, without a shop, so I will live vicariously through you.

Yeah! DW should hire you! :D haha, loved the ending...

Can you use coka cola to remove rust from steel snare

Can you tell us about what to do/not do when staining our wood drums?

beat at the end of video? cant find it on your soundcloud or bandcamp

Will this process be any different to clean up my white powder coated hardware?

I have Supra 6 1/2 Bronze lots of rust and spots any idea how to clean and remove those stubborn old rusty dots ? Thanks

membuat drum jadi bagus....... good..

I love mapex dums. Chris adler from lamb of god uses mapex and so do I. I love dat throw off those. Also, they sound great! It's also a pro series! That's what all of my drums are. A mapex pro m series !

Hi Dave, can you please tell me what size screws/bolts are needed to attach the lugs of a drum to the shell. I'm restoring my Tama rockstar and your videos are a great help. Thanks!

I've found that sandpaper cleans them real nice

awesome vid. any tips on cleaning up / restoring metal rims/hoops

I recently did a cleaning of every piece of hardware of the drums, took every piece apart. All the bolts, cymbals, heads. Took a week with 8 hours a day or so! But in the end it's very rewarding to see the limestone off of 15 or 16 years in strange places. It takes a LOT, and I mean a LOT of elbow grease!

what did you use the scotch-brite pad for?

what is the intro music? pretty great stuff!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="125">2:05</a> ,is this method good for a ludwig lm402?

@rdavidr - You need some Solvol Autosol - hands down the best chrome restoring polish out there

What is the warped music on the outro?

Drum marketing must hate this guy! Sweet setups for lowest amounts of money! How I am going to approach my next kit, for sure. Money better spent on cymbals and drum theory books!

The ending of the video was bloody hilarious

gosh do i love that tune at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="136">2:16</a> - <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="290">4:50</a>

Dave, can you please fix my snare drum? it's actually my school's but it's jacked up in all different ways. there's no way to describe it. the throw-off is literally is hanging off and it won't even keep the snare wires up for long and the internal muffler is fucked.

would this work on black beauty? would the brasso or rubbing compund remove the black color?

Have you tried graphite instead of the white lithium works wonders man

What kind of camera do you use to record

Could you use the brasso and the buff on cymbals to polish them?

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="249">4:09</a> I see you Cosmo and Wanda

The beat during the before/after shots is absolutely sick

do you think that you could make a video making a diy cymbal stand bc im broke as hell but want to use an old cymbal for a drum cover

Can you make a video about wooden drum hoops

David.....question....I’m remodeling the entire drumline of my kids high school band....Do you have a secret for restoring old bass drum metal that’s scratched up? The metal rods and posts? They’ve been scratched against pavement until they look like rusted cottage cheese. ..Normally, I’d replace them and move on but, the school can’t afford to replace parts so, I’m trying to make the existing ones work.... I thought about sanding the dents and scratches out then, buying some type of chrome paint and just touching up the bad parts with it......just until the school can afford to buy replacements. The ideal would be to buy new parts but....that’s not happening until the band boosters can raise enough money.....We live in a very small town so, it’s going to take them awhile to raise the kind of money we need. I’m good at repairing drums but, these things have been thru the ringer and back again....Teenage kids for 30 years! Yes, the drums are antiques!!! They still sound great so, I can work with that. LOL. That’s the reason I was asking if you knew a better way to do it....I hate to ruin an antique by spray painting the metal parts but, I don’t see another way. The shells are great and the aluminum parts on the snares was easy to fix. A product called Never Dull is my secret. Love the stuff!!!! If you need a shine on metal...this stuff will give it to you!!!! Anyway, imagine the worst rusted, dented, scratched up piece of metal you’ve ever seen on a drum and you’ve got a great picture of what I’m dealing with. Sigh. Help. I had a 200 dollar budget for 10 drums! Needed heads for 7 of them and one hoop for a 26 inch bass drum so, there went most of the money. The school could care less that the drums are antiques. They just need them to look good and work properly. I put vinyl car wrap over the dingy white shells and they look brand new. So, I’ve been crafty in trying to save the old drums. I told them we could sell them and make a few bucks toward buying new equipment. I guess what I’m trying to say is....Can this be done? LOL. If I can’t save the antiques then, at least, I need to make them look good any which way I can. Thanks for the help!!! Gonna try this on my old Slingerland snare I grew up playing. It’s just a liiiiitle bit dirty. LOL

If there was an rdavidr soundboard, you saying "mmm, tasty" should totally be on it

What's the name of the song at the end? @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="330">5:30</a>

Can you make a video of 'How to Czech a Snare Drum'? :)

Does this work on black rims and hardware, too?

i just use vinegar (yes vinegar), i put the pieces "to soak" for about 5, 6 hours and clean with a soft foam. after that, i use wd 40 to grease and protect. like magic....

The songs in this vid are fucking sick. They would make some really solid hip hop beats

what's your username on smc fan controller?

Where are you located?

I've heard paper towels are great for applying stuff like this as long as you fold them up and change them out before they get linty. Apparently there's some clay within the tissue that acts as a soft abrasive.

Just wondering, will this produce metal shavings and dust that could be harmful to your lungs? Should I wear a mask if I’m going to be in a smaller enclosed space for a prolonged period?

Thought you made your own music? Didn't think you used the bog-standard copy free stuff....love your vids man!

Maybe try doing natural finish drum set?

If you could make a DIY cymbal tree it would be awesome =)

Please do this to a rusty drum. I'm trying to clean up my rusty snare and it's not fun for sure for me (I'm not exactly a fan of rust)

Make a giant set up with al your drum sets