Hey guys-

Sorry for the OT but I've been wanting to paint my Yamaha tenors Black on the inside shells but wondered if anyone had some info on this.  A few things I've been wondering is what would be best for paint kind, color and application method.  The tenors are black forest stain with chrome rims.  If anyone has some info that would be great.  Thanks so much.

Why would you do that? It will affect to resonant properties of the shell. If you're set on having them black I would stain them not paint them, it won't have as much affect on the sound.

To be honest, I am thinking about doing the same thing with a set of here.  I had thought about water sanding the laquer off the inside of the shells, and after painting them black, coating them with a clear coat.  I had not thought about staining them versus painting.  Now that you mention it, I am thinking about staining them, then adding the clear coat to give it a shine under the light.  I am going to use Evans frost heads on the tenors so the ";darker"; color of the inside shells would be cool.

If you're going to stain them, you'll need to sand down the inside first - or the stain will not soak in evenly (or at all) because of the clear coat.  Sanding is laborious, but it may make or break the look of your stain.  Also...from my experience, spray wood stains work better than ";wipe-on";, but you can still get some good results with either.  Be aware that some stains are alcohol-based and others are oil-based.  I've never stained Yamaha tenors, so I don't know how much (or what type) of glue they use between the veneers (plys of wood).  This may affect how they evenly the stain sets.  You may want to try out the stain first on a spot of the drum that isn't ";visible"; to see if you get the results you want. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the heads up Owen!