How to paint your Remo drum
I am sharing my experience as a professional drum painting artist here with you.
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These instructions from 2018 were made to paint a Remo drum - both the Remo Buffalo Drum, as well as the Remo Fiberskyn Drum. They both have the same vegan material they are made of, which is called Fiberskyn. The name "Buffalo" refers to the deep bass sound and the power animal, not the material. These drums are used as shaman drums though Remo does not officially call them that.
I regularly use the 16 inch size, occasionally 14 inch drums or 22 inch drums:
You can find those at Thomann, Amazon, Ebay or Remo US.
Materials needed (nerdy version, you can simplify)
After 3 years, I decided it was time to make an update video on what art supplies and tools I use to paint my drums! I am still using the same Molotow markers and the varnish, but I have found additional tools and helpers to make painting drums even more graceful!
- Pencil, eraser, sharpener for making a sketch either on a template or on the drum itself. If you draw on a template, use HB. If you draw on the drum directly, use 2B. Use a good quality eraser that does not smear. I use Uni Boxy erasers.
- Acrylic paint with a good lightfastness rate (and brushes) or Acrylic Markers (I use Molotow All For One Acrylic Markers 2mm for most colors. That size works best for me. I also use some 4mm ones to fill in backgrounds. Since 2023 I also use the Molotow Twin markers with a smaller and a wider tip - 1.5mm and 4mm.
Molotow NIBS The thinner Molotow nibs 1.0 and 1.5mm are a bit tricky to use. They dry up easily or get clogged, or a big blotch of paint comes out at first. Be careful with these.
If the tips dry up after some time of not being used, you can revive them by taking them out of the pen with tweezers and soaking them in water for a few minutes, then drying them off with a paper towel and putting them back in, give the marker a shake and do a few first strokes on paper to prime them again - works like a charm!
Molotow REFILLS
All of these markers use the same acrylic ink, and you can buy refill bottles, which is great if you do end up painting a lot. For painting one or two drums, you will not need to worry about refills, though.
Also there are replacement nibs, which is great if you do paint a lot with them and they get frayed over time.
A little piece of paper for making first paint strokes as the markers sometimes clog up or spill, a clean paper sheet to rest your hand on, so you do not touch any painted areas with your hand. Also, if you want to make a template, you will need paper for this.
- Compasses to help you with accuracy of drawing circles. I use several compasses. One is just a regular school compass by Faber Castell. One is a STAEDTLER Mars Professional 555 03 with a pen holder - I use this with my Molotow 1-2mm pens. The best compass for pens and markers is the Copic clip-compass, for circles up to ø 240 mm . If you want to make bigger circles, you need to buy the extension for it: Copic extension rod for clip-compass, EXTENSION ROD, plastic, l=235 mm
- Ruler / protractor / stencils to measure your design if you go for something symmetrical. Also stencils will be useful for drawing small circles! A protractor will be great for mandala designs. Following links are just examples, you can order any other brand or similar product: Protractor transparent 360 degrees, Geometry triangle 30cm, Plastic ruler 50cm, Circle stencil
- Masking tape: Mask areas you do not want to spray. You will need this to mask the handle of the mallet to get a clear line, you will use it to stick a template to your drum, or to mask the rim of the Remo frame drum. This tape comes off easily and does not leave any residue. I use CT washi tape.
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Template: Creating a template is optional, you can always draw directly on the drum with a soft pencil, like 2B). But if you do want to make one, as it is very comfortable to draw and play around with ideas on paper, what you will need is paper in the size of your drum - for a 16" drum you need A2 or glue smaller papers together with either washi tape or scotch tape or get a bigger paper.
You will need scissors to cut out your template.
Get Carbon Tracing Paper / Graphite Paper for template in black for a white drum. If you want to paint a drum black and then see the lines, the tracing paper would need to be white or yellow.
- VARNISH At the end, you will want to varnish you drum to make it playable! I recommend acrylic varnish (I use Molotow UV Acrylic Varnish Matte - make sure your varnish is compatible with your paint or markers - ask in art store and do test runs!) If you work with black, the glossy makes the colors pop more and the black look more beautiful. Update 2023: I have spoken with the company Molotow directly and they recommended their Molotow One4All Water based clear coat. The difference between this varnish and the UV varnish mentioned above is that the UV varnish is mainly for color protection and the One4All varnish is best for durability as it contains PU. Both varnishes work.
How to paint your drum - step by step process
1. Cover up the Remo logo with Molotow All4One Acrylic Marker 229 nature white. This color matches the drum very well. While you let it dry, go to the next step. Sometimes, you might need to repeat this to fully cover the logo - if you add a layer of other color on top, once is fine.
2. Plan your design and create a template on paper. You can use a compass for this, or turn the drum around and draw the shape with a pencil. Then cut it out with scissors. You can also directly draw your design on the drum with a soft pencil (2B works best, as HB is too hard for the drum surface).
3. Fixate the template on your drumhead with washi tape (masking tape) on two sides and trace with tracing paper. Make sure you have the tracing paper with the dark (coated) side facing down - if in doubt, make a quick stroke and check if it worked!
4. Start tracing - just draw over the templates pencil lines and it will be transferred onto your drum. Be sure the template is securely taped on the drum - if the tape comes off, it is troublesome as it will never be exactly at the same spot again. Geometric designs require that precision.
5. Remove the template and start coloring with acrylic markers or paint. For bigger areas you can use the Molotow One4All Acrylic 227HS with the 4mm nib, or the Acrylic Twin by the same brand. I tend to avoid painting over an area with my markers, as it doesn't work so well, so I leave out big areas to fill in later.
6. Let it dry. If you have lots of different colors, let one color dry before you apply the next so they do not run into each other. A hair dryer can help speed this process up.
Put on some music you love! Stretch in between layers! Have some water!
7. Fill in other areas with paint. One after another, but let each color dry first before proceeding. Always be careful about paint that is wet, to not smear it. Mistakes are hard to fix. Be mindful. Only paint when you feel well and highly focussed.
8. Use a compass if you desire perfectly drawn circles. Check in the materials section what I wrote about this tool (Copic clip on compass) and other tools, like rulers and stencils that will help you a lot!
With stencils, be careful, as they easily smear the paint! You need to wipe the stencil clean after each use.
9. Adding metallic colors. When I am mostly done with the other colors, I add golden outlines and circles. Metalic paint is very fragile and I need to be careful to not smear it or damage it.
It is best to add metallic paint at the end, or as late as possible. Otherwise you might need to add a second coating.
10. At the end, add finer details and at last, the golden codes. It is important all other areas are really dry before this step, and that you protect the drum with a sheet of white paper, so your hand doesn't touch any painted area.
11. Masking and getting ready to spray on varnish! For painting the mallets, cover the heads, as you do not want spray on them. Then go outdoors and spray a thin coat of varnish on your mallet and your drum. Follow spraying instructions in the bottle.
Let it dry for a day or two. Then gently remove the masking tape. If you paint a Remo Frame drum, it is a good idea to mask the wooden frame. The burlap material of the Remo Buffalo drum on the other hand doesn't require masking.
12. Congratulations! You painted your own drum!
If you want, send me an email with your creation or tag me on social media. I love seeing creative projects! Much love!
FAQ
Can the painted drums be played? Does the paint change the sound?
Yes, you can play them! My drums have been in use for around 7 years by people from all over the planet. Just make sure you spray it at the end with protective acrylic varnish. A drum that has been varnished is safe to be used and no, no paint is chipping off! The trick is to apply only a very thin layer of paint, and a thin layer of varnish.
So I would advise you to be mindful to apply the paint as thinnly as you can to not change the sound.
However, if you want to paint your FRAME DRUM, and you plan to play this drum with your hands, you will hear more of the sound changes, as a frame drum has more overtones and the hands bring out a bigger sound spectrum than a mallet.
In that case, you might want to have several frame drums - a painted one and an unpainted one. So you can play with different sounds.
How to remove the Remo logo from the drums?
I haven't found a safe way to remove the logo. However, I do paint over it with the acrylic marker by MOLOTOW in nature white. Usually, I do this in two rounds - I fully cover the logo, let it dry and paint over a second time.
You can also use regular acrylic paint, however, you would need to mix a slightly creme / eggshell color to match the drum as it is not plain white.
If you plan to paint your drum with acrylic paint, you might not need to cover the logo. That depends on if the color you are using is going to be transparent, semi-transparent or opaque.
How to paint the Remo Bahia drum
The Remo Bahia Black Earth Drum is the same size as the Buffalo drum but has an additional vinyl coating that produces a strong bass. I have tried to paint that model but gotten mixed results, so I no longer paint it. If you do want to try, you need to lightly sand it first so paint can stick better to the vinyl surface. Due to the soft surface, tracing from a template will not work well. So you will need to hand draw your motif on the drum or find another way. Apply paint not too thickly to not dull the sound. At the end, spray with varnish. The varnish will remain tacky if you do not cover the whole top surface with a coat of acrylic paint first, before adding markers etc. So make sure you follow that step, to not directly varnish the vinyl, but to have a coat of acrylic on top.
So here again the steps of painting the Bahia drum:
1. Sand top surface lightly
2. Cover the whole vinyl surface with a layer of acrylic paint (foam roller, brush on etc.)
3. Add your painting with markers, brushes etc.
4. Varnish
How to paint animal hide drums?
I have briefly experimented with this, but I no longer paint animal hide. Here is my experience, because people ask me about it and I do my best to share my knowledge.
From what I have learnt, the best option for animal hide is actually henna. It does not change the sound at all, it is durable, natural and an ancient art.
So, vegan / synthetic drums work well with synthetic paints (like acrylic). Real hide works best with henna, a natural organic material.
It is possible to paint hide with acrylics, as long as the hide is not oiled. If you do not know, ask your marker if it is oiled or not. Still henna is the better choice as it acts like a tatoo on the hide. So the hide can fully breathe and expand and contract as it needs to without any problems. Oil paint might work on an oiled drum, but I am no expert on this. Just this: Acrylic paint and and oiled drum don't mix well, as acrylic paint is water based and water and oil are not friends :)
If you would like to know more about painting your drum with henna, please check out Julia Surba, this is her specialty and she offers courses on sessions on this subject.
What acrylic markers do you use?
Molotow Acrylic Markers (All4One) in 2mm. There are also bigger sizes, however, I find the 2mm most suitable. The 1mm only comes in black and white (plus tips you can replace the 2mm with), and those are hard to use as the paint sometimes cloggs them up or suddenly a big chunk comes out and spoils your artwork - so do the first splash on a paper before going on the drum. With the 2mm size, that doesn't happen, but it is still good to have a smear paper ready to get them started and when they clogg up, you can free them on the paper.
Alternatively you can look up POSCA markers, they are popular in the US, but they do not have the easy refill system that Molotow offers, so I don't use them, except their gold which is more shiny than the Molotow gold.
Lastly, regular acrylic paint out of the tube or bottle will work as well. I recommend getting a good quality brand like Lucas, Schmincke, etc rather than super cheap paint that might not hold well over the years and lose its color. I also love to use the refill bottles of the Molotow brand, this can be applied with a brush also.
Always use varnish at the end - and ask your local shop what varnish suits the paint you get plus try it out on a piece of paper before you do everything on the drum. Some varnishes will smear your paint, I have heard. Not with Molotow, but other brands.
How to hang the drums on the wall?
I simply put a nail in the wall and hang the drums like a canvas. Simple. Just be careful with small children and pets, that the drums are out of reach and don't get knocked off the wall. (I know some cats do some pretty crazy things!)
Any more questions I can help with?
I hope you enjoyed painting your drum and / or getting some nerdy education. Reach out if you have any questions, I am happy to help. (Or paint a drum for you :))