Silver Sealer

dnt

dnt

Member
So, I’ve seen many answers/opinions online...does anyone in here have a definitive answer for what exactly IS the silver sealer Gretsch puts in some of their lines, and does it actually DO anything for the drum or the sound?
 
Silver sealer is a silver secret. It does seal the wood, beyond that it is a silver clear coat.
As to the sound, that is to the ear of the beholder.
 
Back in the day drums were made out of wood. Wood that didn't necessarily match and was not attractive to look at. Ludwig and Gretsch started painting the interiors to make the drums look better. "That Great Gretsch Sound" comes from the silver sealer as well as the construction of the drums...made from...wood. If you've seen a lot of vintage drums you'll notice that many of them look like crap on the inside of the shell. Unless they were painted, and then they look finished. Most of what I've read about the silver sealer says that it was fence paint...magic fence paint with magical powers.
 
It is Aluminum fence paint, initially adopted to cover imperfections in the inner ply of the shell. Personally I find it hideous and I would never use clear heads on the Gretsch kits I have owned in the past.

Ludwig used white ceiling paint and then trunk paint (Granitone).
 
dnt said:
...does anyone in here have a definitive answer for what exactly IS the silver sealer Gretsch puts in some of their lines, and does it actually DO anything for the drum or the sound?
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Me:

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RickP said:
It is Aluminum fence paint, initially adopted to cover imperfections in the inner ply of the shell. Personally I find it hideous and I would never use clear heads on the Gretsch kits I have owned in the past.

Ludwig used white ceiling paint and then trunk paint (Granitone).
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What RickP says.........aluminum fence paint. The look is OK with me and I presume with many other Gretsch owners. Personal taste.

PorkPieGuy said:
Me:

azBhD9l.gif
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This is my favorite answer.
 
I am on board with respecting traditions, but I would say they are nothing special to look at compared to natural sealers used by other companies to bring out the natural grain of maple and other woods.
 
It all makes sense - whichever is right lol. Doesn't really make a difference to me, since I prefer coated heads and you'd never really see the sealer, anyway... Thanks for the input, everyone!
 
dnt said:
It all makes sense - whichever is right lol. Doesn't really make a difference to me, since I prefer coated heads and you'd never really see the sealer, anyway... Thanks for the input, everyone!
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I actually kinda dig the silver finish. I’ve never had a set with a finely finished interior. Most are just plain. The silver finish gives a cool glow when lights shine through it, even with frosted heads.
 
I can tell you this. I recently visited the Gretsch factory in South Carolina. The application of silver sealer is one thing that is behind closed doors.
 
The Ridgeland factory only has five workers and the manager Paul Cooper stated after the extensive nitro lacquer heating and sanding "the shell now gets Silver Sealer applied to its inside. The application and composition of the sealer are kept secret, but Cooper assures us it’s more than just bells and whistles. “The Silver Sealer has been the same since the mid-’50s. I’m not sure why they started using it, but it does have an effect on the sound of the drum because of its reflective principles. It’s just another Gretsch nuance.” And that's why he's probably the manager to blow smoke up peoples butt that these are "magical". So if we can just discover the silver sealer then we can turn any drum kit into a Gretsch USA custom-magically by just spraying the interiors. I'm not too far from them-I'll sneak over and "borrow" a touch of paint for mass spec analysis, etc to figure out what gives it such wizardry. Next I'll buy all this magic formula so Gretsch will have to pay me for their magic paint and I'll have a nice little retirement egg. I may even sell the magic paint to their competition if they don't pay up big time. Business is ruthless-they'll call me the Silver Surfer-yeah dude and dudettes! If the deal is a reflective surface why not use a harder surface like polyurethane for the inside-I guess they didn't have it a hundred years ago. So now I'm going to make Art's drums with a magical clear sealer formula ROFL-
 
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Gretsch Silver sealer appears to have changed formulation I’ve the years as well . My first Gretsch kits from the 70’s had silver sealer like that pictured in the bottom picture . Shinier and more silver looking . The Top picture is how Gretsch does their silver sealer now . It is flatter , less shiny and has more of a grey colour than silver like in the past .
I added the picture of the Brooklyn shell and it seems the silver sealer they use for the Brooklyn appears to be a mid point as it has properties of each of the other examples .
 

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justadrummer said:
I can tell you this. I recently visited the Gretsch factory in South Carolina. The application of silver sealer is one thing that is behind closed doors.
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Wouldn't the paint booth have to be behind closed doors? Because of fumes and whatnot? :p

Granted, it's also a convenient way to perpetuate the myth. So it serves several purposes, haha.
 
I'm stripping my drums down and sending them off to an auto factory to have painted inside/out with a baked on car finish (none of the local paint jobs). I'll just need to polish them up with car wax on occasion. I wonder if someone has tried this-I'm pretty sure someone has tried this.
 
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