I thought about that, as well as copper plating it... Maybe engine turning too- but that is a lot of work... It would look super-trick however!
The cheapest and easiest thing is to shoot it black. I even have a can of suitable paint rolling around here. Actually both black and white appliance epoxy. White might be interesting and it will hide the less than straight surface of this drum. I took the dents out (only the strainer was dented in) but you know it is never 'perfect' and black highlights EVERY flaw in the shell.
Mat black is the rage these days, the 'rat rod' look could be cool in flat black with bright red pin stripes too... Maybe red highlights in the bow tie lugs too... That might be REALLY cool! Let me think about that! I have some mat black textured paint from a project that might actually be very cool as a base for the red stripes. Anyone know a good (or even mediocre) striper around here?