Bass drum 'blue dot' beater stickers for KD120?

[Dan the Speakerman]

I saw these at my music store nearby, can't remember the brand or exactly what they were called. Would these stick to a mesh head and alleviate wear from a felt beater?

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[snared]

I have the Evans cordura bass drum patch on my mesh head. They stick just fine. Some people say they don't stick to mesh. If they don't you can glue them on. There was a recent post on this. I can't remember who posted or what it was titled. He said he experimented with many different kinds of adhesives, and found one that worked well. There were also some other suggestions on that post, if you can find it.

I've heard these "patches" help cut down on wear-and-tear, and lengthen the life of the mesh head. Thats why I got one at the same time as the kit.

Does anyone remember what the post was titled or who posted it?

[Drumsonly2002]

Posted by Sig Oct 04.
I've been playing Hart mesh-head EDrums for a couple of years now, and I've finally found a solution to a problem that haunts a lot of us mesh-head users. This seems to apply whether the kit is Roland, Hart, Pintech, or some other type.
The problem is that heavy-handed drummers like me tend to abrade through the mesh kick dum head with the pedal beater. It contacts the head in the same area every time, and there's always a little sliding motion involved. This leads to the mesh grinding away and eventually failing- just like a regular Mylar head will fail.
The normal answer for acoustic drums is to stick a leather or even Kevlar beater patch on the head. This works great on Mylar heads, but none of the commercial products will really stick to the polypropylene mesh heads in heavy use: not enough contact area on the rough mesh, and too much stretch when it is tensioned. They peel from the edges and fall off witin an hour.
It took a couple of years, but I finally found an adhesive that will penetrate the mesh without damaging it, remain decently flexible, and stick a beater pad to it so that it will stay for a decent amount of time. I tried Shoe Goo, and several of the other silicone and urethane adhesives with no luck. They'd either get hard, crack, and peel, or they'd never stick at all, or their solvents would attack the mesh and cause it to fail prematurely.

I finally tried Valco-Cincinatti HV-350, which is a $2/tube automotive sealant and weatherstrip adhesive, and hit paydirt. It never cures down hard, and is flexible enough to "give" as the head is tensioned without allowing the pad to start to peel at the edges.

To use it, I took the adhesive and worked it through the head from the back side, to assure that the mesh was completely saturated with the glue front-to-back. I then backed it up with some saran wrap as a release layer, and flipped it over and stuck the beater pad on from the front. I then weighted the head/glue/pad stack to make sure that the pad stayed in intimate contact with the head and adhesive as everything cured.

I've put about 50 hours on the head/pad now, and that's where the old unprotected heads used to blow through. This one is still going strong. You can find this goop at most major auto parts stores... If you punch out your mesh kick heads too quickly, give this a try! Other weatherstrip adhesives might work as well, but try them on a junk head first: the ones that use MEK as the primary solvent will just dissolve the head mesh. This one is the first I've found that sticks to the mesh without partially dissolving it.

[Drumsonly2002]

Product literature from Valco Cincinnati calls HV-350 a "one-part, multipurpose adhesive that will virtually outperform any glue." Because of its elasticity -- it has the capacity to stretch up to 600 percent after curing -- the adhesive can work in high vibration applications such as those found on moving vehicles. HV-350 is said to work well for repairing broken taillight lenses, securing trim, sealing windshields, and more. It can be used almost anywhere -- from highly porous surfaces such as cinder blocks to non-porous surfaces such as metal and glass. Unlike silicone, HV-350 is sandable and paintable with both oil-based and water-based paints. When fully cured, it can maintain its adhesion and sealant properties underwater. HV-350 is available at automotive and home improvement outlets.
For more information, contact:
Valco Cincinnati Inc.
411 Circle Freeway Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45246
(513) 874-6550

[Dan the Speakerman]

Thanks!

Snared, that Evans patch is the one I saw...about $10, two in a bag.

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[dr. kildrum]

Various "patches", adhesives and "ringers" can really assist the feel factor also. The KD-120 heads are already reinforced on the inside, and with the two beater types I have used, I've seen little problem with wear. The new heads are well, new, so can't report on them, but the originals got well over 150 hrs+ with hardly a blemish before replacing them (if anyone wants to buy some of them, they are still near perfect). I do use various "patches" and ringers, and not only on the kick, however, but I do it to correct/perfect the drums feel.