Restoring Vintage Drums - Removing Excessive Rust From Tension Rods and Washers

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I hope you enjoyed last week's post on the basics of restoring vintage drums.  As promised, today I am going to share Sam Bacco's secret for removing excessive rust from tension rods and washers.  Here goes...

This pile of tension rods and washers were removed from the same 1964 Slingerland kit that you saw in the previous post.  Pretty rusty, eh?

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Despite a good scrubbing with the #0000 steel wool, much of the rust remained.  I knew it was time to give Sam's tried and true trick a try.  Here's what you need...

© shoutingforha

A large can of WD-40 and an old, clean jar.  Squirt a sizable amount of the WD-40 into the jar and toss in all of the rusty tension rods and washers.  Allow them to soak for a few days.  You will want to shake the jar every so often to stir things up.  

Some of the pieces were so rusty that I decided to let them hang out in the jar for an entire week.  

Remove the rods and washers from the jar, give them a quick wash in a little soapy water (dish soap works great for this application) and then dry them thoroughly.  Then give them a good scrubbing with the #0000 steel wool.

You will be amazed by the results.  As you can see, the once rust-covered tension rods and washers look almost as good as new.  

Check back next week to see one final tip for restoring vintage drums:  How to silence the buzzing from lug springs.