I have seen Novus at "The Container Store", also motor sport dealers carry it, it is used for getting scratches out of shields on helmuts. And vm2k is right, the Novus #3 is hard to get out. Use only on deep scratches.

Very nice find! As you go about normal cleaning, you may find some of the yellowing could disappear as it likely is nicotine. However, as others have suggested, go for the Novus treatment.

I agree about the yellowing...

I have sprayed Windex on bare shells before,and dark,thick yellow streams of nicotine has run off of them.NASTY!

Of course,the shells look much better then to apply Novus 2 .

And,I find that Novus actually reduced fade ,to some extent......

I just did a MIJ Red Diamond Pearl snare shell today with Novus 2 on the drum I got last night,and it did it on that...........

You will flip when you see how nice your Ringo kit will turn out.......

Seems like every single Ringo kit I have found has been in great shape,owing to the fact that whoever bought it new,bought it due to wanting a Ringo kit in the first place,so they babied them!

Blair

Thank you all for your great advice and comments. So here's the update... I've taken the 13" and floor tom apart and cleaned off the thick layer of dirt and gunk. The shells are looking waaay better! Some of that yellowing was definitely nicotine, but some is still on there. I'm going to head over to the local Harley dealer and see if they have some Novus in stock. I'm sure I can get my hands on some tomorrow. Barkeepers Friend did wonders for the hoops and hardware... it's gleaming again. Any advice on the bass drum hoops? I'm planning to flake off the loose paint, sand lightly and repaint them in satin black. Any pointers?

If the inlay is all still there I would not take it off. I just cover it with blue painters tape and take a razor knife and run it along each edge. Works great! Make sure you get a good seal before you paint.

Thanks Lucky, will do. I was planning to get some of that frog tape (or whatever that new painter's tape is called). Apparently it gives a superior seal, nice sharp edge, and it peels away nicely. It costs a bit more, but I figure it's worth it. Thanks for the razor knife tip, I think that's a good one.

agreed. the last vintage hoop i painted, i just masked off the inlay. that original stuff is too hard to find,too hard to match and too easily broken to be messing with in my opinion.

mike

Novus 2 works great on wood BD hoops too!

Shines em right up,along with the inlay at the same time..........

PS......

if you buy/sell lots of drums,I would buy a 1/2 gallon of Novus 2....

It's around $25.00.....but will last a long time!

That's they way I buy it........much cheaper that way......

I buy a 4 oz bottle of the Novus 1..that goes a long way too....

Thanks Blair. Good news - the local Harley dealer stocks the novus products, so I'm going to pick some up on my lunch break. Unfortunately, the largest size they have is the 8oz, but the price is very reasonable and not much different when compared to the online offers... AND I can get it right away rather than waiting for shipping. I'll take Blair's advice and get a larger container online for future stuff, but at least this will get me started for now. Party