Can autographs be removed from bats?

[camarokids]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I searched the forum and couldn't find a thread on it, has anyone removed a sig from a glove? It is black leather with silver sharpie sig. It was kinda smeared in shipping and I am thinking about removing it all together. Can it be done without any leather discoloration? Thanks in advance.

I used virgin olive oil with a soft rag to remove a silver pen signature from a Wilson A2000 glove. It worked perfectly..... Could not tell it was ever there.

On another glove the sig smeared some , so I used the same method to remove the smearing only. Worked great and it did not mess up the rest of the signature.....

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I have a Cooperstown Bat Co. bat with the Atlanta Braves logo that is signed by numerous Braves HOF's as well as Andrew Jones and Randall Simon. I may keep AJ on there but I'd like to remove Simon....anyone try any of the methods mentioned on those bats with that glossy finish to them?

[cigarman44]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I searched the forum and couldn't find a thread on it, has anyone removed a sig from a glove? It is black leather with silver sharpie sig. It was kinda smeared in shipping and I am thinking about removing it all together. Can it be done without any leather discoloration? Thanks in advance.

[tigerdale]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I removed a silver sharpie signature from a black 'A bat' with finger nail polish & it worked great.

[redoctober]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

Any experiences with blue sharpie being removed from a finished blonde GU bat??

[mlrtme17]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

About 10 years ago I talked McGwire into signing a bat for me. He finally gave in but insisted on personalizing it to myself. He signed it in black sharpie ( I wanted blue, but what can you do?) and it's one hell of an autograph, but I personally don't like personalized things. A coulple of weeks ago I finally pursued removing the personalization. I used Goo-Gone with cotton swabs, and it worked GREAT! I think I got 98% of it off. I couldn't get the part that blead into the grain but it's really not noticeable unless you are really looking.

Ryan

[cjw]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

No exactly on point with this discussion but, I have removed black sharpie from glossy photographs with a dab of nail polish remover and a soft cotton ball. I had a team signed Blue Jays photo and one player had spelled my name incorrectly...so I removed only my name....It worked perfectly.

[icollectDCsports]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

Camaro: Seems like you found a natural solvent to remove gold Sharpie. Pretty cool. Thanks for the experimentation on the other stuff. Good to know.

[camarokids]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

Hi there DC, I tried successfully to remove silver ink from 5 different plastics. A milk jug , a gatorade bottle , a prescription bottle , the plastic desk top on my 2 year old sons little desk and a large plastic tote . On all 5 items the writing came off with out having to use an eraser . I just used a paper towel and the olive oil . Granted the ink was on there for just over an hour. They all came off with almost little effort . The hardest was the RX bottle . I tried to find hard plastic like a helmet. Hope this helps you on your endeavor......

[richpick]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I have removed black sharpie signatures on game used team bats before and I used a little paint thinner and the signature came off about 98% and with a game used bat you could not tell as there is all kinds of dings, dents, and marks on those bats. I believe the part that did not remove was the ink that had gone real deep into the wood grain. Overall, you could not tell that there had been a signature on the bat in the first place after this process!.

[camarokids]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

Hi there again DC, I forgot to mention the silver ink did get into the grain (on top of the black coating , this was the hardest part to get out . But it can be done . I assume the coated bats keep the ink from getting deep into the wood, just like you said . Thanks for helping clarify the differences between natural and coated bats .... I don't want anyone to be confused and screw up a bat . I do apologize if my post came across the wrong way ! Just sharing what has worked for me . I will let you know about my success or failure removing ink from a plastic batting helmet..................

[camarokids]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

Hi there DC, you are absolutely correct , that's why I have never tried it on natural bats. My brother is big into woodworking and gave me the idea to try it , back in 1999 . I have even used the olive oil just to put more shine on some bats that were heavily used w/ no problems . I responded to your private messaage a few minutes ago.

[icollectDCsports]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

On the black bat, it appears that the grain is sealed by the black paint, so the gold marker probably never got into the grain. By grain, I mean the actual pores of the wood, bare wood. Most bats these days have some sort of finish that covers the bare wood and seals it pretty well, whether that finish is colored paint or a clear finish like polyurathane. With use, some of the finish can be worn off and it may be possible for ink, sharpie, paint pen, to get into those areas. But I'm sure many bats with decent use are still sealed very well.

Applying any liquid (that does not totally evaporate) to bare wood grain has the ability to stain it. Changing the color of wood is one reason why various oils are sometimes used to finish furniture. In some cases, it may stain portions of the bat to look like the rest of the bat and you may view that as a benefit. Or it may restore the sheen or luster to a portion of a finished bat that has been worked on to remove an autograph. When making the decision whether to try to remove an autograph, the person making that decision will need to consider all of these factors.

[camarokids]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

I think the key issue with removing a signature from a bat is whether the ink (whether it be black or some other color) has penetrated into the grain of the bat, or whether it is basically sitting on the surface of some sort of finish which has sealed the grain. If the former, I think removing a signature would be very difficult because you would probably need to sand into the wood beyond where the ink has penetrated. It would be up to you whether having a sanded area, looking obviously different from the finish of the rest of the bat, is acceptable. If the ink has not penetrated the wood grain, then as was suggested above perhaps some solvent can be used to remove the ink without damaging the wood or the finish on the bat. Also, if the bat is not finished with some coating sealing the grain, applying something like olive oil is going to lead to the oil getting into the wood grain and staining it, compounding your problem.

Due to my experience using olive oil on my bats for years and removing ink, excess pine tar from the M9 label , etc . I have to disagree big time ! The olive oil will actually help restain certian colored bats . Example I have a Kevin Stocker gamer that has chip on the barrell that was showing bare wood , well after several applications , the color/staining has magically re-appeared . As far getting the ink out of the grain ...... look at the pics of the DiFelice bat and tell me what you see . If I didn't know the 2000 was written there, you would never be able to tell . It takes time and several applications and erasing and you can get it out of the grain.......HOWEVER AS STATED BEFORE this works on SILVER & GOLD ink only and on stained bats (brown,rose, black, walker finish) ...I have not used this on natural wood bats....WHATEVER YOU DO DO NOT USE SAND PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Number9]

Re: Can autographs be removed from bats?

icollectDCsports,
You made some great points. Thanks. A sanded area would be even worse than an auto for me (and to everyone else I imagine).
Perhaps I just need to wait until I can find an unsigned Murphy bat that I am comfortable with. Or at the least I need to first experiment with a cheap or unused bat.
Thanks again.


Mike