Can You Repaint Your Snare Drum Head?

When the coating has started to wear thin on a snare drum head, you might think that repainting the head would save some money and make the head last longer. However, replacing the specialized coating of a snare drum head with spray paint would greatly decrease the sound quality of the head, and would last only a short time before flaking off.

Change to a Different Type of Coated Head

If the coating wears off your snare drum heads relatively quickly, you might be using the wrong type of head for your style of playing. If using a single-ply coated head, consider switching to a double-ply head which will be generally more resilient to heavy drumming. Additionally, consider one of the reinforced coated snare heads currently available. Drum heads with a central "power dot" on the head are reinforced in the area where coating tends to wear the most.

Temperature and Tuning

To increase the useful life of each coated snare drum head, keep it in a controlled environment. Sudden changes in temperature or humidity can weaken the coating of the head, making it more liable to cracking and flaking. Also make sure that your drum heads are not kept in damp conditions, or in direct sunlight.

Faulty Heads

Sometimes a bad batch of coated drum heads will make it to a retailer. These heads may have encountered extremes of temperature or humidity on their way to the shop from the factory, or may have been manufactured faultily. If the coating wears off a drum head much more quickly than you would expect from that particular brand and model of head, you should be able to return it to the point of sale for a refund or replacement

References

• Prof. Sound's Drum Tuning Bible
• ZZounds: Aquarian Texture Coated Power Dot Snare Drumhead