Refinishing, Hoop Fabrication, and more

[Jaisen Torres]

really nice job !!!

[joaozinho]

Amazing and beautiful restoration!!

[ABAKUA]

Very nice work! Amazing finish.

[Omelenko1]

Joseph,

You are the ultimate craftsman, what a great job! Do you still have the Islas you got from me?

Take care,

Dario

[Joseph]

This thread is a bit old, but I do appreciate all the comments and hope that some may find the subject helpful.

Do you still have the Islas you got from me?

Hi Dario,
Yes I still have them.
I wish they had the newer hardware, but I still like them.
Those are some solid shells.
I thought about selling them recently to lighten my load, but haven't yet decided.


For those who sometimes get discouraged in the midst of a refurb project, following is an untold part of the photo essay:

After bringing both shells to complete perfect gleaming finish coat, I laid the conga on it's side on my table saw top ( the table top shown in all photos), while prepping shell for hoop installation.
I turned away to get a tool, and to my horror the conga shell rolled off the edge of table, and dropped 3 feet onto a rough concrete floor.

I expected to find the shell cracked again, but to my surprise it wasn't.
However there were numerous noticeable gouges into a brand new finish coat.

As the finish coat on these shells is lacquer, I had read that lacquer finishes are "repairable", that is, they can be spot finished at the site of the repair to match the existing finish.

To make a long story short, photos show my efforts to repair the finish. As photos attest, it did not go well.
Spent better part of 2 days trying to match stain / blend in repair, all to no avail.

Finally bit the bullet and resolved to completely remove lacquer/ stain, to refill gouged area with wood filler, as the only acceptable way to make a proper repair.

Removing a lacquer finish is surprisingly easy, though unpleasant and messy.
All it took was a quart of laquer thinner, steel wool, rubber gloves and lots of rags.
Lacquer thinner is applied with the steel wool, which immediately softens finish coat.
Generous use of rags to absorb/wipe away softened lacquer.

I was surprised that in about 30 minutes the entire lacquer / stain finish was completely removed to bare wood.
I filled gouged area with wood filler, and within the same day began the refinish process.

I spent much more time trying to repair a patch than I did totally refinishing shell.

Satin sheen Lacquer is my preferred finish especially for ease of application, and rapid re-coat time.
The fact that is also so easily removable made a daunting and discouraging job easier.

As Winston Churchill said: "...when you are going through hell....keep going!..."

[ABAKUA]

Ouch! Stuff conga nightmares are made of! I'd freak if it dropped!

[Thebreeze]

Ive been there done that Joseph. Mine was a King Conga, sanded and ready for primer, and rolled off a table like your's except my drum had a softer landing onto my backyard Lawn. No structural damage, just needed to put on a new set of Pampers from the scare.