Cleaning and Conditioning Old Bats

[smass]

I have read in a few places that an old bat can be cleaned and reconditioned by rubbing it with rubbing alcohol and then applying linseed oil. If so, should raw or boiled linseed oil be used? If the bat has a decal, is this procedure still ok or a bad idea? If ok, do you need to avoid touching the decal with the alcohol and/or oil?

Thanks,

Stuart

[murphusa]

Matt or Fred Loweman are 2 of the bat experts here. On antiques that have decals or other applied items, some people cover it with a very small amount of vasaline as other oiled based products don't stick to it. I have never used it on a bat decal but hopefully they will chime in

[MGHPro]

I've personally never used rubbing alcohol on bats.. my guess is it would remove a lot of the finish, and the linseed would put it back on.

I use wood stripping products most and follow with lemon oil. There's other products I use, but I wouldn't recommend without seeing the bat you want to clean cause it could do some damage to foil stamped bats. You can also just try 000 steel wool and some lemon oil, that works well too.

Now the decal question.. that's a touchie subject. It depends on the condition of the decal itself. If its flaking you will end up rubbing it off. If you have a nice decal that's just dirty, I would send it down to Bill Rayburn. He's the best at cleaning decals. I WOULD NOT go near a decal with rubbing alcohol. I do put lemon oil on decals though and it does shine them up.

If you post a picture of the bat you want to clean, I will let you know my thoughts. There are some before and afters in this listing

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110597905576...84.m1555.l2649

[whitehse]

I had worked for the Chicago Cubs in the 80's and legendary Cubs equipment manager Yosh Kowano would literally take all the bats that were left in storage at the end of the season and spread them over the floor of the clubhouse, on top of newspaper. He would then rub linseed oil onto each bat and allow it to dry before putting them back into storage for the trip to spring training. One never questions Yosh as to why he was doing something but it seemed he felt that linseed oil would protect the bats and keep them well seasoned for the cold winter storage and the trip to Arizona in the spring. I never have tried this with the bats I had in my possession but if it is good enough process for Yosh..........

[Bill Rayburn]

I agree with Matt, I wouldn't use alcohol at all and certainly not on the decal. My experience with linseed oil is that it will never dry, it will remain tacky to the touch and attract dust and dirt. I am sure it is fine for keeping game bats over the winter but not bats for display. I am not really promoting business but if this bat is an early 1900's decal bat and you do not have prior experience restoring bats I would recommend seeking out the services of an experienced restorer. There are many products that can be used but not all are safe in any one application. You don't want to be making mistakes on a potentially valuable bat.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Bill Rayburn

I agree with Matt, I wouldn't use alcohol at all and certainly not on the decal. My experience with linseed oil is that it will never dry, it will remain tacky to the touch and attract dust and dirt. I am sure it is fine for keeping game bats over the winter but not bats for display. I am not really promoting business but if this bat is an early 1900's decal bat and you do not have prior experience restoring bats I would recommend seeking out the services of an experienced restorer. There are many products that can be used but not all are safe in any one application. You don't want to be making mistakes on a potentially valuable bat.

It depends on the type of wood, the type of oil and the humidity at the time you apply it. I've found this out the hard way when refinishing old pool cues. If anyone wants to discuss, PM your phone number. I have a buddy with a cue-building shop who specializes in oil finishes (as opposed to spray).

I have a 1910's Ty Cobb decal bat that is in pretty horrible shape, with no trace of decal remaining. When I start the restoration project, I'll keep careful 'before and after' pics. My main concern is how to repair the wood separation in the barrel.