Restoring stadium seats

[Rob D.]

I think this is an area of the hobby in which you have a good chance of getting a 50-50 split on opinions. It seems as though I see offered for sale/auction an equal number of seats in original condition as those that have been refinished. I think a key to holding value in refinished examples is -- not surprisingly -- the quality of work that has been done and staying true to the original colors of the seat if any repainting is done.

All my Cleveland seats are in original condition, but that's just a personal preference and how I got them. I wouldn't be opposed to having a refinished seat in my collection, if it was done right. The one thing that I really dislike and don't understand why people do it is affixing a plaque to the back of the seat identifying the stadium, city, etc. This kind of addition does nothing for me and would be enough to prevent me from buying a seat that had it.

If you had a seat that was in such bad shape that it was missing a wooden slat or two or other pieces of hardware, I think the consensus would be to restore it. If it wasn't in rough shape and its flaws were just some missing paint and light rust, my inclination would be to leave it in original condition.