How to remove a wrap

[Ddub]

   Ok all you guru's out there, how hard is it to remove a drum wrap and re wrap or paint a drum that is already drilled for hardware?

    I am thinking of picking up a set of Yamaha Absolute Birch but the wrap is dog ugly.  If I can get a good enough deal on them I may re wrap them.

Thanks ya all.

[Louis Russell]

I am not sure of the Yamaha drums.  Some wraps use adhesive only at the seam and some use adhesive over the entire surface.  I have seen others where the adhesive is randomly applied.  Sometimes you get lucky and the wrap comes off easily.  Other times you must apply a little heat (hair dryer) to soften the adhesive.  Once you remove the wrap you can use a stiff hairbrush and a little heat to remove the remaining adhesive.  Some drums have great wood underneath and some have some really not so great looking wood underneath. 

[HDT]

I have a set of Yamahas (Tour series) that I bought in 1983.  Originally they had a beautiful deep, red wrap on them.  It was actually a transparent red, with a silver foil-like backing that gave it depth and shine.  Well, over the years that wrap began to look not so beautiful, so last year I purchased silver glass glitter wrap and re-did the whole kit.  And once again... they look beautiful.  When the stage lights hit them, wow. 
But I digress... that's not why I called you all here.  The subject at hand is removing old wrap from a set of Yamahas.  It wasn't too awfully difficult.  The original wrap was attached at only one or two places on the shell, depending on how big the drum was.  The really difficult part was getting that foil backing off, however.  It was glued on like they were going to war, or something.  So the bulk of my efforts were concentrated on getting that off the shells, and making sure all the old cement (it was pretty sticky) was off.  Beyond that, though, it was well worth the effort.
I might suggest, as Louis did, that heat can be your friend.  I used my wife's blowdryer from time to time, throughout the process, but I found that there were times when nothing but concentrated effort would do the trick.  If your wrap does not have the silver backing, you may get lucky.  Then removing it may be a simple matter of removing the lug housings and peeling it off carefully from the seam.  Once you get it free from the adhesive strip(s), it should just pull right off.  Good luck.

[Timekeep69]

I have a CB700 snare drum I replaced some lugs on and I noticed that the wrap is RIVETED onto the shell.

[DEAFMOON]

Piece of cake! Begin by using at least a 1500watt hair dryer and heat the wrap at the seam. Using a flat putty knife - this is not a knife as much as a 1 to 2" flat scraper - push under the seam and pull up slowly. Keep using the hair dryer about 4 inches from the wrap area you are pulling up. Even if the manufacturer used an adhesive all around the wrap, you can heat up the adhesive and remove the wrap slowly all around the drum. Next, wrap is off. What are your plans? Re-wrap or stain? I've done both so I'll take you to a clean shell. To remove the balance of the adhesive - and you must whether you are rewrapping or stain - use a gelled adhesive remover. Paint it on with a cheap disposable foam brush - depending on the size of the drum you may need a few of these brushes to go around the shell. DO NOT USE a bristle or polyester brush as the glue holding the bristles or hairs into the brush will start to fall out as you work with adhesive remover. Got that? Alot of folks forget that part. Brush on and lightly scrape off with a firm plastic putty knife. Be careful not to chip the wood or dig in, you are only trying to remove the adhesive. Which should loosen up with the remover. Do not leave the remover on too long and do only segments of a shell at a time. After you scrape off the remover, wipe the shell with towel to get as much of the liquid off as possible. Be very careful around glued wood seams, you do not want to pull apart the wood plys. Hope this helps.