Drum Building Video Tutorial – Sunbursting Your Drums With Aerosol Cans in 7 Steps.

By John Dutra | August 1, 2009


“Drum building doesn’t have to be hard. Drum building doesn’t require crazy tools. Drum building doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.”

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Repeat these three things to yourself in the mirror and get crackin’ on your new drum set already!


“But I don’t have the equipment to make my own drums?” Honestly… you’ll live. And you can still make a drum set that is unique, professional looking and great sounding.


“Wait… isn’t drum building hard?” Great question. The answer is NO. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here… we buy drum shells pre-made (thats the specialized part) and custom drum lugs and hardware of your choice… then we finish the drums in any custom way that you can dream of.


“Thats crazy… drum building sounds’ expensive.” Not as pricey as buying custom drums or a customized set from a notable drum company. Actually, you’ll end up saving about 70% of your money if you buy the drum building supplies rather than buying a completed custom drum set.


Okay okay… back to the tutorial: A simple drum building idea is to sunburst your drums with nitro cellulose aerosol cans. The cans are easy to order online and it’s a classy look, and it’s super easy to do. Check here for some sunbursting cans.


Here are the steps I utilize from the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD to attain a cool sunburst drum finish:


#1: Sand the drum shell with 320 grit paper, wipe it to remove the dust and Apply 4 nice sanding sealer coats and let each coat dry thoroughly. Let the last coat dry overnight.


#2: In the morning lightly sand the drum shell with #320 paper for a nice and smooth surface. Drum making is all about prepping: the finished product is only as good as the start… so make that baby nice and smooth.


#3: Prep the insides of the drum shell. In the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD, I do this with tin foil and blue tape. I simply tape the tinfoil to the insides of the shell to protect it from overspray.


#4: Apply the dark colored (usually brown) Sunbursting Aerosol Can to the edges of the drum shell. Make this as dark as you wish (many coats will get it black) and as large as you want.


#5: Apply the amber/yellow Subursting Aerosol Can to the rest of the drum. The yellow color will not effect the dark edges, so overlap the yellow into the dark edges to make sure you’re not missing any spots.


#6: Hit the entire drum with atleast 2 coats of gloss lacquer aerosol. I know… when youre making drums it’s tough to be patient… but if your not in a hurry, I would do 4 coats or more. This locks in the amber zone and protects it. Any overspray from our next step can be carefully smoothed off with #0000 steel wool.


#7: Ad the transitional red zone. This is achieved by applying the brown Sunbursting Aerosol right where the black edge meets the yellow/amber zone. This zone can be as big or as small as you want your burst or fade to extend. I went through the most drastic example in my Guerrilla Drum Making DVD to show how truly small of a burst you could get if you desired.


DO’S: always shoot aerosol cans in a well ventilated area and wear a protective mask….. shoot light coats.

DONT’S: Don’t even try and put your drums in the sun to dry… you’ll be more than mad at what happens.


The sunbursting option is a simple and easy drum finish with any drum building projects. Making a drum set with this technique is easy, fun, and classy.

Topics: Fade and Sunbursting Drum Shells

Custom Drum Finishes: Painting Stripes With Lacquer Aerosol Cans

By John Dutra | January 29, 2009



January has bean a busy month in the GDM camp! We’ve gotten a ton of great e-mails from people around the world that got the GDM DVD for Christmas, and by far, the most Frequently Asked Question this week has bean about striping techniques that were talked about on the “Sunbursting With Aerosols” chapter.

An e-mail from Jared in Tacoma, Washington:

In the sunbursting chapter it talks about color striping ideas. Can I do color striping with colors other than the ones used in the video, and if so, where do I get these colors? beyonce halo


Listen to guerrilla drum maker Dylan Jones’ exact process to answer your questions (his striped drum is pictured above):

First I sanded the whole drum using the methods you outlined in your DVD, starting with 220 and going over it with 320. Then, I covered the bearing edges and the inside with aluminum foil and did 4 coats of sanding sealer.


Next, I put down a primer of flat white nitrocellulose lacquer I got from the Guitar ReRanch. 4 coats of that went on the drum. Next, I made measurement marks halfway down the drum, and measured and marked 3/8ths of an inch above that, since I was going to have a 3/4 inch stripe and wanted it to be perfectly centered. I locked the measurement in with a locking square and made marks around the drum.

I used 3/4 inch painters tape to make a stripe right below the marks. I then sprayed 3 coats of Shell Pink Nitrocellulose Lacquer, also from the Guitar Reranch. When that was done, i removed the stripe tape and put down a few coats of satin clear coat.


Keep the questions coming people! And thanks to Dylan for e-mailing us his drum making process, and the final pictures.
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Topics: Fade and Sunbursting Drum Shells