Jeff interesting topic. I've been talking to Dan about the thermogloss finishes a bit. He suggested if your using water based products to use shelac as a sealer. He said to pre sand the shell with whatever grade you normally start with up to 400. Then 2-3 coats of shelac. He said the shelac bites into the surface, seals the grain and makes it pop. As maple is a close pore wood grain filler is not really needed. After the coats of shelac use a 320 then buildup your clear finish as many coats you feel is good 6-8 or so. He dabbled a bit in the WB finishes but does all nitro now. Yes far as he understood the thermogloss finish was heated lacquer. To 1 prevent orange peel and 2 to thin the lacquer so it lays down a nice smooth and thicker coat. He did ask what brand of materials your using. As some differences do apply. But this was the basic conversation. Down the road I want to do a Ludwig kit in the same finish. So we'll be giving it a shot at some point. Sounds like a really fun project~!

BTW he said some test samples are best to start with till you get the desired results. He's on FB or he said feel free to give him a call anytime if he can help out. His website is in my sig line.

Ok, thanks Glenn! Sounds like Dan would be a good guy to get to know. I think we are just using such different products its like two guys doing the same thing but different, lol.

I have use level sealer on most of my drums. It will fill in the grain so you don't have to use a filler of any sort. And with level sealer you can build to 12 dry mills safely and it is a flexible finish as well. The top coat is the conversion varnish and you cant just keep spraying it as much as you want, there are specs to follow. ML Campbell recommends 4 to 5 dry mils, in other words, two coats. Orange peel is controlled by the settings on the gun and most of all air pressure, I never have problems with that. I have been to several seminars on finishing with ML Campbell products, they have pretty much taught us to how to achieve these nice finishes using their products. But I have found them to be a great company with very good support but most of all excellent results.

Here, have Dan check out the web site, I use Krystal for my top coat on cabinets. I only use the Level sealer on drums and special projects to get a flat finish.

http://www.mlcampbell.com/

I will make some samples up when I get my stain match. If anyone would like to get one from me just let me know I would be more than happy to mail one to you.

Yep think your right. He only did the WB finishes for a few years. And worked with 2 different brands. Krystal was one of them. I forget what the other one was but maybe have been MLCampbell. Sounds like you have a good plan. Looking forward to seeing the results.

I have never tried water borne finish, I should give it a whirl someday. I do have some shellac here in the shop but no nitro lacquer. It would be fun to try this both ways, maybe I can get my supplier to give me a quart sample.

He had lack luster results. Curing time was excessive and the finish could sometimes "fog" until it gassed out completely. Finish after cured was also on the soft side for a few months. Had to be extra careful with assy. Justin has a CR model and a bud of his also has a Paragon both in WB finishes. Both are 4 years old now. So it's cool we can track the long term effect of the finish. They have held up well but you can't beat good old nitro for guitars.

That funny how nitro is accepted so well on guitars, in the cabinet biz, you wouldn't even think about using it.

Just to make sure, this drum is what we are talking about correct?