3 Vintage in Chi. $500

[RitmoBoricua]

Hello. Going by the pictures you provided after you properly sand the drums I do not think you have any serious filling to do. If you have to use any filler at all is better to finish the drum first and then match the filler to the finish and refinish the filler. Besides IMHO is nothing wrong with a vintage (aged) drum to have some battle scars. I do not think them original Valjes and Gon Bops were made to look like high end furniture. You making sure the drum is structurally sound is priority number one once you take care of the cracks and splits you move-on taking care of gouges, scratches, sanding, filling, finish etc. Takes time to do it right be patient.

[caballoballo]

Alex you can polish that chrome with aluminun foil. Use the shiny side and just rub the chrome, very easy to do and effortless. For the lugs, deep them in Vinegar then use a brush to remove the rust. After all that process use car wax to finalize the job.

[AlexV]

ok i took off the rope this morning and the drum is solid. next step sanding

ritmoboricua- definately i'm just going to sand and then see what we have going on. i leave for florida on thurs morning so i might just get to the 60 grit done.
but i am going to take my time so i don't have to redo anything. i'm just happy the hard part came out good so far. the drum seems really solid. titebond III is some good stuff.

caballo- seriously just aluminum foil? that seems so weird but simple. i'll go over the hardware again to see how effective that is.

gracias mi gente.

[RitmoBoricua]

<<ritmoboricua- definately i'm just going to sand and then see what we have going on. i leave for florida on thurs morning so i might just get to the 60 grit done. but i am going to take my time so i don't have to redo anything. i'm just happy the hard part came out good so far. the drum seems really solid. titebond III is some good stuff.>>

Nice to hear the drum is soild. 60 grit sand paper is real aggressive so be careful, it will remove lots of material. You do not want to remove too much material from one area and end-up with an uneven area (surface) on your drum. You know after you use the heavy duty grit you still have to come back and remove more material when you sand with finer grit to smooth out the shell surface. Also car wax is good to polish finish like lacquer, polyurethane or varnish once you let the finish cure for at least a month then you come back with car wax and polish it to whatever sheen you desire.

Alex I wish I were going to a warmer place like Florida or back home Puerto Rico right now. We got lots of snow here couple of days ago we are dealing with that and icy conditions now they are talking about the possibilty of more snow, freezing rain etc. I really wish I were underneath the mango tree in front of my mother's house in Puerto Rico soaking-up the warm weather and who knows even playing a barril de bomba. Take Care.

[bongosnotbombs]

I've got a wax finish on one of my drums, my old Gon Bops. It looks good, but there are
two things I don't like about it. First it is really hard to remove, actually I gave up removing
it. I had wanted to oil the GB so it would match the Valje better, but it ended up being too much
work, so I just put another wax coat on it. Second, the wax makes the drum a little on the slippery side.
I don't know how you are going to be playing this set, but if your playing rumba, well I can imagine how hard
it would be to hold onto that big old Valje tumba if it was slippery with wax. However, the wax does look nice, especially on an oil
finish and does offer more protection

[caballoballo]

Yes Alex, aluminun foil, Confia. No,No,No, the car wax is to shine the chrome after the polishing.

Polishing steel
A simple and inexpensive way to remove rust from and polish steel surfaces by hand is to rub it with aluminium foil dipped in water. The aluminium foil is softer than steel, and will not scratch the surface. As heat is generated by rubbing friction, the aluminium will oxidize to produce aluminium oxide. Aluminium has a higher reduction potential than iron, and will therefore leach oxygen atoms away from any rust on the steel surface. Aluminium oxide is harder than steel, and the microscopic grains of aluminium oxide produced creates a fine metal polishing compound that smoothes the steel surface to a bright shine.

[RitmoBoricua]

Before I forget I need to mention that safety is paramount. Get you a dust mask that saw dust will basically tear you up when you breathe it. In some wood species saw dust is almost poisonous really hazardous to your system. Have proper ventilation when applying chemicals (stripper, finish) them fumes mess you up quick. Chemical gloves to protect your hands , safety goggles to protect your eyes from harmful chemical splashes. Rags impregnated with oil stains, varnish, polyurethane, oils etc need to be hung outside until air dried because they are very flammable while wet.

[AlexV]

ritmo- me lo dices! este maldito frio me esta matando! como dice ruben
dame la maleta que me voy! si no fuera por los hijos olvidate pana me largo pal'
carajo. pero que se puede hacer.

i bought n95 dust mask and i'll use gloves goggles whenever needed. i listen to good advice for sure.

bnb-as far as finishing i was thinking of something oil based then poly coats. i'd
like to keep it simple but protected. i like the idea of hand rubbed coats of poly
maybe in satin. we'll see. i'll decide after i've sanded and see what color the wood is. decisions!

caballo- tonight i'm going to use the aluminum foil method. we'll see
how much rust it takes off.

[taikonoatama]

Hey Geordie,

Curious what finish was used on the old Valjes.

In your talks with Ralph Flores did he ever mention what finish he or his dad, Tom, used?

James

[AlexV]

tai- good question. i'm curious to know as well. mostly i want to know if they were
stained at all or is that natural wood with just a protective coat.

[bongosnotbombs]

I'm pretty sure no stain was used at all, just some sort of urethane type coat, I'm guessing exactly the same as my Resolutions are done. I know Ralph loves to talk about Valjes. You should give him a call. He's doing something for me right now, I will probably speak to him later this week, I could ask him.

[AlexV]

bnb- beautiful tubs man. that gon bop fits right in perfectly. is it me or do the valjes sport a fatter belly?

[AlexV]

or it could just be the angle of the pic.

[yeeman]

I think Valje was always known for their wider bellies....which is why I got these MEINL's that I had re-finished in November.

[bongosnotbombs]

bnb- beautiful tubs man. that gon bop fits right in perfectly. is it me or do the valjes sport a fatter belly?

That's why I got the DW GB, it matched so well, and Resolution doesn't make that size. You are right the DW GB has a different shape than the Resolutions and Akbar's Sol drums. The DW GBs are shaped a lot more like the vintage Gon Bops, which I assume was intentional.