Autograph restoration on baseballs
 

My Father was a pro baseball player in the mid-'40s to early 50's. He has about 20 autographed baseballs that are in need of restoration. I have heard that restorations of autographs can hurt the value, if any. Is there a reputable restoration company out there?

What do you mean by restoration? If you mean trace over the signatures to make them darker, don't do that.

I recommend you leave them as is.

There is no restoration company out there that can restore a baseball.
There are a number of companies that do great work on paper but as far as I know none can do anything to a ball.

Removals
 

The only "restoration" that can be done is removals of certain undesirable signatures, but that is highly taboo. Not considered restoration at all, but rather damaging and naughty :-)

Definitely leave as is. If they are decent team or multi signed baseballs, I promise there will be buyers who want them despite light autographs or ball scuffs/dirt or whatever you may be referring to. Just check auction results on a site like Heritage (ha.com) or PriceRealized.com - lots of lower grade baseballs sell everyday.

Post pics of what you've got!

Mark

Making signatures darker or 'restoring' them is altering the autograph and a good way of ruining them. they would have to be disclosed as altered when selling and the price goes down. collectors would rather have a light or very light untouched autograph that hasnt been altered over a dark altered autograph.

State your father's name.

It would be interesting to post pictures of the balls you are referring to. You are probably best not touching the balls, but I would still like to see just how bad the condition is.

People will still pay a high price for signatures that are considered 1-2's if they are major HOFers that could otherwise be "unaffordable" if they were darker signatures. I once paid a decent price (around a grand) for a team ball that had a very light Gehrig (rating about a 1).

What if the baseballs are generally "dirty and unappealing" and someone was to gently clean them a bit without touching the autographs?

Nope, it would make the ball look very awkward, and still devalue it more. It was common to get used balls signed for decades, so dirt on the ball is most likely from game or practice use. There is NO "appropriate" restoration for baseballs that will increase the value. While sigs can be removed to create a more desirable single signed, etc., that is considered taboo and JSA & PSA can still tell using their equipment.

Removal of signatures can be seen by a simple black light, it is not necessary to use any other equipment.