Ballpark Chairs

[mcgwirecom]

I like to restore them but not OVER restore them. I take a stripping wheel and remove all the loose paint and clean off the rust and just repaint the last color they were. Since this is all they really did through the years it will look as it did while it was being used. And it doesn't really look like it was totally restored. Plus you can bring it in the house to display or use without worrying about the loose paint and rust.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by mcgwirecom

I like to restore them but not OVER restore them. I take a stripping wheel and remove all the loose paint and clean off the rust and just repaint the last color they were. Since this is all they really did through the years it will look as it did while it was being used. And it doesn't really look like it was totally restored. Plus you can bring it in the house to display or use without worrying about the loose paint and rust.

A friend of mine(I will note that he is a notorious bull-sh!tter), supposedly can land me a few seats from Cleveland Municipal Stadium.. I haven't put much thought into it(because he's usually full of it), but if he were to actually come through for once, I'd probably take the approach that you just mentioned..

[thansen30]

agree with not over-restoring them. you still want to see the layers left over from years of repainting and imperfections from years of exposure. just cleaned up and freshened with appropriate paint, as they would have done if they were still in use . . .

[drc]

Especially if they are going to be displayed in your home, I think it's acceptable to make them presentable. Technically, if they are weather beaten from being outside for 30 years they aren't in their original state. Their original state presumable would have been clean and nicely painted. The irony is restoration can bring it closer to it's original look.

As it is a large piece of furniture, with a functional, the question of restoration (and usability) can be different than with a baseball card.

[JimH5]

I have two pairs of unrestored wooden seats from Milwaukee County Stadium. They are pretty worn, with a few coats of green paint in various states of peeling.

While I haven't tested the paint, I would think some or all of it has some lead in it. Probably most of the old stadium seats have lead paint on them.

Something to consider when choosing to restore...

[baseballart]

I have a couple of old seats from Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver. These supposedly were originally in Sicks Stadium, but I have not seen this verified. I have left them unrestored


Max

[drc]

I'm not an expert, but once asked the very ballpark chair question to my dad who is a retired chemical and biological engineering professor. He said if no one is eating the paint chips or licking the paint, old lead paint chairs are likely to fairly fairly safe if left alone. He said it you sanded it as part of restoration, then lead would get in the air.