Restoring stadium seats

[sschauer]

What's the opinion on restoring stadium seats? i.e. removing the rust and repainting old seats like crosley or wrigley? Does it lower their value, raise it or stay the same?

[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.

[Tedw9]

I think Rob D put it best. I could not have said it better myself.

I only have one seat in my collection, but it is original shape which I believe adds to it's charm.

[khkco4bls]

i personally would never change anything if you didnt have to. i have triple polo ground seats but had to change the wood because it was shot. orig. paint i wood leave alone.

[sschauer]

Now to throw a kink in thing I picked up a row of seats removed from crosley in the 30s but then used in a fairgrounds and painted over by the fair. Would you restore back to crosley green? http://www.forsythesauctions.com/

[steve B]

You might not have to repaint.

There;s a technique where you use paint remover on small sections and don't let it sit. When it's wiped off it only takes a bit of the top layer.

I saw it on a show about restoring a frescoe, and tried it on a couple things I have,(Bikes, not seats) and it works pretty well. Slow, but the results are nice if the original underneath was decent when it got painted over.

I've got 3 seats, Fenway - original, atlanta fulton county - restored and with paperwork, texas stadium - original, but it's plastic anyway.

Steve B

[mr2686]

I'd leave the seat as is, slab it and have it graded

[sschauer]

Originally Posted by mr2686

I'd leave the seat as is, slab it and have it graded

That was plan 2 but the shipping costs are crazy

[mr2686]

Yep...gotta watch those shipping costs! But seriously, If you can get away without restoring your stadium seats (they're in good enough shape and look nice enough) that's the way I would go. If, however, you have rust issues and broken slats and someone has painted them the wrong color, I don't think it hurts at all to restore them...as long as you take your time, do your homework, and do a professional job. I like the idea of trying to strip away the top layer of paint. Worst case scenario is that you'd have to repaint it anyway

[mcgwirecom]

I had bought a Yankee Stadium seat years ago that was just chipping and peeling. It was a mess. I really wanted to use it so I took off all the loose paint and painted it the original green color. Looked great and got to use it. Lets face it, most seats don't have their original color, they were all repainted at the stadiums. I just bought a Cleveland Stadium double seat I got Bob Feller to sign the top slat. I'm gonna repaint the whole thing and use it!

[Fuddjcal]

Would anyone have any opinions on what to do with Original Dodger Stadium seats? There is no wood or seat with them, but are just the original brackets finished with very little rust. They were "borrowed" from Dodger Stadium during the original constuction and have been stored for 50 years in a crawlspace. I have about 20 seats worth of these originals and would love to do something with them. Thanks

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by sschauer

What's the opinion on restoring stadium seats? i.e. removing the rust and repainting old seats like crosley or wrigley? Does it lower their value, raise it or stay the same?

What Rob said is pretty accurate. 50-50 seems to be the split.

The questions I'd ask are these:

1. What do you want to do with the seats?

2. Are you married?


I own two seats. One is from the original remodel of Yankee Stadium. It was repainted before I got it in 1973. It sits in my office, right inside the front door of my home. It's one of the first thing you see when you come to visit.

I also own a double seat from The Boston Garden. It's in it's original condition, which means chipped paint, one slat repaired and never repainted, with gum stuck to the bottom of the seat. It sits in the back corner of my garage, hidden from view. If I were to restore it, I might stand a chance of getting it in the house. As is, no chance.

Hence, the "What do you want to do with the seats?" and "Are you married?"

[batsballsbases]

This is a great topic,and yes I would say its a 50/50 split. But I would restore them. Here is a great story why. This is on The 73 restoration of yankee stadium. In my town a company called United house wrecking bought up about 20,000 yes 20,000 of the yankee seats and were selling them for between 5-10 dollars each. 10 if you wanted a double pair. Many people bought them and they were sold to people all over the area. Fast forward to about 1985. Im in the landscape tree business and we are on alot of properties, I was giving an estimate for a rather large job for one of my clients who had just bought a house and wanted to re landscape. as we were clearing out an area by an old pool I came upon a set of 2 decent yankee stadium box seat chairs. I was excited! I asked my client what she wanted to do with them and she said they are yours if you want them I couldnt get my men fast enough to load them into the truck. They were decent but a little rough. Well after the excitement wore off they sat in my shop for 20+ years. Problem was they were peeling ,one of the slats was broken and they were just not something you would want to sit in. One day my oldest son asked me about the seats and it got me to thinking about finally fixing them. Biggest problem was that slat,it was curved. I called every one of the seat restorers on line and no one would sell me a curved slat. (I dont think they had one) I finally was able to get a local wood shop to make me some of the slats and the project began! I called one person who does restore these seats and what he told me was to leave as much of the old paint as possible( The original paint was called sea foam green) and to get the original paint match color. (Yankee stadium blue) A sherwin williams paint #. (Still in use). We took them all apart and cleaned them.I used all the original bolts, was lucky enough that they were still good. Well it turned out to be a great project and I do have some pics. I will put them in to 2 posts as they all dont fit. The seats came out great and I have asked many who have sat in them to tell me which is the replaced slat and not one has got it right. I guess in my case I would restore them and if I had to do it again I would probably do it again!

[batsballsbases]

last pic

[sschauer]

Yes I'm married but she allows me the basement man cave and my office to decorate how I please. My plan is to display them but seemed silly to purchase something then turn around and ruin the value could have gone to Vegas and pissed away money if I wanted.

They're a row of 5 and really considering cutting them apart into 2 pairs with an extra seat that would just be the wood and seat bottom. Makes it easier to display as a row of 5 is almost 8 foot long.

Or other option take them apart keep the original slates intact and just use replacement wood painted correctly that way could always reform them into a row of 5.

Looking into soda blasting the paint and rust off they might be able to just remove the top layer paint and leave the original green on the wood parts would be the ideal solution. But have to weigh cost of that.

[karamaxjoe]

My experience would be to restore the seat unless it has the original paint on the outside. I spent months restoring a figural Tiger Stadium Seat that had paint from a local college team on the seat. You might say it was a labor of love and I never thought I would sell the seat. Little did I know I would sell the seat a year after restoring it since I found something I had to have and I'm not a Tigers fan. The seat sold for 4K in an auction 10 years ago and I doubt it would sell for half that today. I miss having the seats in my office and I hope whoever has them today enjoys them.

Mike

[Kawika]

At first I thought the tiger was holding a vuvuzela but upon closer inspection I see that it is a bat.
I am sure that whomever (whoever?, whatever) owns the seats now is enjoying them. I know I would be. You did a beautiful job of restoration.

[Jim VB]

Mike,

Those seats look terrific. In fact, almost too good.

Remember these are stadium seats. Most never saw any kind of preparation, or restoration. They got painted. Every few years. Period.

In the case of the Yankee Stadium seats, some (the straight back and seats) went into the Stadium in 1923.

The curved back and seats, were installed sometime in the 1940's when they pulled the folding chairs out of the box seat areas.

If you want to make them look like they did, get some of that Yankee Stadium blue, from Sherwin Williams and slather it on!


(But, like David said, you did do a terrific job of restoring them.)

[mr2686]

OMG! Mike, you did a fantastic job of restoring those seats. I must say that they look (or I guess looked) fantastic with that great wood flooring as well.

[sschauer]

Thanks for the replies I've decided to split them up into 2 double seats and restore them. Now any great site that lists the exact paint color per seat? I've heard the red seats were Chinese red but what about the green?

[russyurk]

I struggled with the same question on my Tiger Stadium turnstile. All of the Tiger Stadium stuff sat outside for about seven years prior to the auction and a lot was in bad shape. I was really torn and talked to many people and ultimately refinished it. The main reasons were that is was in bad shape, the pictures below don’t really do justice on how bad it was. The paint was peeling and would fall off with the slightest movement and with a young son and was concerned about lead paint. You can see the original green and at least two coats of orange. I own an air compressor and was going to spray paint it but came to the same conclusion as Jim VB that it would have been too nice. When it was time for paint, I'm sure they sent Johnny Maintenance guy down to the hardware store and he slapped it on with a brush. The oranges were definitely two different shades so I found what I thought was a good match that would maintain the integrity of the item. I made sure to leave some of the original green showing on the underside just like I found it and also reapplied the same number. I'm glad I did it, it’s much more pleasing to the eye refinished.

[Yankeedoodledon]

I have just purchased two Yankee Stadium wood curved back seats, rear mounted with the stanchions. I found two Pat. No's on the cast iron stanchions that were both issued to American Seating Co., Grand Rapids, MI.-one Pat. No. on 4/5/38 and one on 6/17/41. There are also three other numbers on the stanchions-3400R, 340-R4 and 19L on the left stanchion and 19R on the right stanchion. Everything was originally painted the sea green with the blue over it. Can anyone give me any additional information on these seats, like when they would have been installed in the stadium and where they would have been placed? Thank you.

Yankeedoodledon

[Simmons Nation]

hi guys,
i agree with what's been said here... i have seats both restored and unrestored and my personal decision is totally based on the condition of the seat. if it looks cool unrestored... then i leave it unrestored. attached are pics of an 1909 ribbon arm seat from shibe park. i picked it up for a steal on craig's list, but it was in HORRENDOUS shape. the guy i bought it from was at the last game in 1970 and personaly ripped it out of the stadium. he then let it sit in his garage for the next 40 years! the picture doesn't do it justice, it looked terrible. it didn't display well and looked like garbage... so i spent 4 months restoring it and stripping 60 layers of paint and even had to get a blacksmith to straighten out one of the legs. but the end result displays beautifully

[sschauer]

Been so long forgot about this but I did restore them and was a very fun project and turned out great. I made a website that showed my step by step process with before and after pictures here http://4192cards.info/index_files/crosley.htm Here's the final product

[jcmtiger]

Here are some seats from Briggs/Tiger Stadium. The double was obtained in the 1970's when they were refurbishing the Stadium. The single was from a garage sale in the 1980's. The only thing I added was some boards on the bottom of the double for a more sturdy seat.

Joe

[Tomman1961]

Thanks to BatsBallBases, leading me to the correct paint color of my Yankee Stadium seats.
I picked up 3 attached Yankee seats. Free is a nice price to pay. Not only was 33% of the wood rotted, some castings were broken.They were disgusting!
I let them sit in my parents basement a few years. When My Dad retired and he had the time to restore them for me,(1990?) we came to the conclusion the only thing we could do was to make 3 into 2. Over 20 years later, I still belive that was the best decision thing to do. Someplace up here you may find my pictures of the 3 before-and the 2 after. Thing is, if the castings were good, I would have asked my dad to see if he could do the wood. But we had nothing to attached it to-the casting sides were that bad.
Whoever did BatsBallsBases wood slats is the way to go.
Paint-well,Maybe I should not have sanded them all down to bare wood. But I did.Again B-B-B told me the color codes, and I thank him once again.

[batsballsbases]

Tomman1961,
My pleasure! Im glad it all worked out for you. Its such a sad thing to leave them the way they were. Its always the burning question to restore them or leave them the way they were. To me (My opinion) its a no brainer! The sea foam Green seems to stand up better than the blue paint did. Peeling is the major issue. Always reminded me of pig pen on charlie brown. Every time you moved them blue paint flakes were all over the place. My wife would never allow me to ever put them in the house the way they looked! Remember the stadium crew would slap coats of paint all over them all the time so in my eyes isnt that a form of restoration ? To me I left as much of the origional paint underneath as I could and re used all the orig. Hardware. Like Russyurk
on the turnstile to me it looks much nicer now that it did leaving it alone.Looks to me like he matched every detail! Great job. Now its a source of pride not an eyesore!

[Bpm0014]

Here are my seats from Forbes Field. Cool story... I used to do landscaping in high school. One of the houses we did was the guy who owned (or worked for?) the company that tore down Forbes Field. One day he allowed me access to take whatever I wanted. I grabbed 2 full seats and later (rather amateurishly) restored them myself. Didn't turn out toooo bad, but one day I'd like to restore them properly. Always cool to think that someone actually sat in these seats and watched the 1909 World Series between Cobb and Wagner....

[PhilNap]

My just completed project

[thekingofclout]

They look terrific, Phil. Where you gonna put 'em?

[batsballsbases]

Phil,
Very nice job. They look great. I loved doing mine and it goes to show in most (not all) cases restored is the way to go!!

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Fuddjcal

Would anyone have any opinions on what to do with Original Dodger Stadium seats? There is no wood or seat with them, but are just the original brackets finished with very little rust. They were "borrowed" from Dodger Stadium during the original construction and have been stored for 50 years in a crawlspace. I have about 20 seats worth of these originals and would love to do something with them. Thanks

Being that I chimed in a couple of years ago on this, a friend picked everything up a few months back and put these together for me...Thanks Mike! Mine are used for guests in my office. We still have a couple pairs left that are not accounted for, If anyone is interested you can PM me.

Great job by everyone with the restores!!!

[CenterFieldSports]

We just purchased a few benches from Sicks stadium and refurbished a few that where beat up pretty bad. Wanted to do a few different styles of refurbished to show different condition

Unaltered all original this was the best one of the bunch, keeping it like it is


refurbished 1


refurbished 2

[PhilNap]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

They look terrific, Phil. Where you gonna put 'em?

Thanks Jimmy. That's the burning question. Space is always an issue with the bulky stuff. I'm sure I'll find a spot that is worthy.

Originally Posted by batsballsbases

Phil,
Very nice job. They look great. I loved doing mine and it goes to show in most (not all) cases restored is the way to go!!

Very true. These were just a mess of flaking lead paint. Luckily the wood was is great shape.

[bdwood]

Hello,
The carriage bolt came from a pair of seats removed during the Yankee Stadium refurbishing during 1973 -1975. The size is 1/4" x 1 3/8". I have not been able to find exact length with the larger head 3/4". Any idea where I can find 20?
Thank you.

[ooo-ribay]

10 years later, I gotta tell russyurk I absolutely love that turnstile! I have always wanted a Candlestick Park turnstile but space considerations have always stopped me. Still, if the price was right....

[Sparty1955]

I recently purchased a set of plastic blue Tiger Stadium Seats. I am on the fence as far as restoration. I love the original look, even the faded blue but my concern is the rust and how to keep it from getting worse.
Michigan State, Detroit Sports, Kalamazoo sports - always interested

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Sparty1955

I recently purchased a set of plastic blue Tiger Stadium Seats. I am on the fence as far as restoration. I love the original look, even the faded blue but my concern is the rust and how to keep it from getting worse.
Michigan State, Detroit Sports, Kalamazoo sports - always interested

If they’ll be displayed inside, I wouldn’t worry one bit about the rust. It’s unlikely to progress any further.

[jcmtiger]

Originally Posted by batsballsbases

This is a great topic,and yes I would say its a 50/50 split. But I would restore them. Here is a great story why. This is on The 73 restoration of yankee stadium. In my town a company called United house wrecking bought up about 20,000 yes 20,000 of the yankee seats and were selling them for between 5-10 dollars each. 10 if you wanted a double pair. Many people bought them and they were sold to people all over the area. Fast forward to about 1985. Im in the landscape tree business and we are on alot of properties, I was giving an estimate for a rather large job for one of my clients who had just bought a house and wanted to re landscape. as we were clearing out an area by an old pool I came upon a set of 2 decent yankee stadium box seat chairs. I was excited! I asked my client what she wanted to do with them and she said they are yours if you want them I couldnt get my men fast enough to load them into the truck. They were decent but a little rough. Well after the excitement wore off they sat in my shop for 20+ years. Problem was they were peeling ,one of the slats was broken and they were just not something you would want to sit in. One day my oldest son asked me about the seats and it got me to thinking about finally fixing them. Biggest problem was that slat,it was curved. I called every one of the seat restorers on line and no one would sell me a curved slat. (I dont think they had one) I finally was able to get a local wood shop to make me some of the slats and the project began! I called one person who does restore these seats and what he told me was to leave as much of the old paint as possible( The original paint was called sea foam green) and to get the original paint match color. (Yankee stadium blue) A sherwin williams paint #. (Still in use). We took them all apart and cleaned them.I used all the original bolts, was lucky enough that they were still good. Well it turned out to be a great project and I do have some pics. I will put them in to 2 posts as they all dont fit. The seats came out great and I have asked many who have sat in them to tell me which is the replaced slat and not one has got it right. I guess in my case I would restore them and if I had to do it again I would probably do it again!

. Had a 1961 Chevy Impala. Sea foam green. LOL. Have some Briggs/Tiger Stadium seats original. Joe

[Sparty1955]

I have them on my porch, so they're covered from rain but not humidity. I planned on keeping them on the porch during the summer and bringing them in once Fall starts until Spring.

[Sparty1955]

Yesterday, through pure coincidence I came across a seat of three seats, I was told from Briggs/Tiger Stadium. The price is so cheap that it is a no brainer to buy. However as you can see they are in pretty horrendous shape. The wood will most certainly need to be replaced. The owner's wife has had them sitting in her garden for the last 20 years. I don't mind the challenge of the project. I could use all the advice I can get though. This isn't a 50/50 choice. More like a 99/1. What's odd is I don't see a single speck of green paint. Maybe someone painted them? You can see a layer if red, gray, etc. And the seat numbers (1,2,3) seem to be in a larger stencil than other Briggs seats I have seen???

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Sparty1955

Yesterday, through pure coincidence I came across a seat of three seats, I was told from Briggs/Tiger Stadium. The price is so cheap that it is a no brainer to buy. However as you can see they are in pretty horrendous shape. The wood will most certainly need to be replaced. The owner's wife has had them sitting in her garden for the last 20 years. I don't mind the challenge of the project. I could use all the advice I can get though. This isn't a 50/50 choice. More like a 99/1. What's odd is I don't see a single speck of green paint. Maybe someone painted them? You can see a layer if red, gray, etc. And the seat numbers (1,2,3) seem to be in a larger stencil than other Briggs seats I have seen???

Those are great! Too bad you don't have the pieces to make one good pair, due to the front slat missing on two. That said, maybe you could take a middle slat from the end seat and round the corners with a jig saw. Good luck!

[mrozie21]

Originally Posted by Sparty1955

Yesterday, through pure coincidence I came across a seat of three seats, I was told from Briggs/Tiger Stadium. The price is so cheap that it is a no brainer to buy. However as you can see they are in pretty horrendous shape. The wood will most certainly need to be replaced. The owner's wife has had them sitting in her garden for the last 20 years. I don't mind the challenge of the project. I could use all the advice I can get though. This isn't a 50/50 choice. More like a 99/1. What's odd is I don't see a single speck of green paint. Maybe someone painted them? You can see a layer if red, gray, etc. And the seat numbers (1,2,3) seem to be in a larger stencil than other Briggs seats I have seen???

Pm sent

[DamagedCase]

Originally Posted by bdwood

Hello,
The carriage bolt came from a pair of seats removed during the Yankee Stadium refurbishing during 1973 -1975. The size is 1/4" x 1 3/8". I have not been able to find exact length with the larger head 3/4". Any idea where I can find 20?
Thank you.

You can find them if you google “stadium seat bolts”
A few websites should pop up at the top.

I’m purchasing some as well. My seats had rivets put on which over time has loosened and seats wobbled

[DamagedCase]

This is my new project. Dodgers Stadium field seats.
Thanks for all the helpful info on here.
These have been sitting outside in the LA sun since 2005. Beyond faded and corroded.
I found a way to properly restore the plastic seats and have been flip flopping with painting the metal legs/frame. Two different yellow colors appear. I’m guessing the first layer (light yellow) is closer to original. I can see red oxide primer under the yellow.

Since it’s still a 50/50 split on full restoration I’ve come here for advice.
I need to attack the rust issues first and I know it will disturb the paint anyway.

Any advice? Leave it? Or repaint?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by DamagedCase

You can find them if you google “stadium seat bolts”
A few websites should pop up at the top.

I’m purchasing some as well. My seats had rivets put on which over time has loosened and seats wobbled

I bought a few hundred of them from American Seating (the same people who built most of the stadium seats back in the early 1950s through today.) I can sell them for $1.50 each, minimum 10, postage $3.00 regardless of quantity bought.

They have a star head, 3/4 inch diameter face, 1 3/4 inches long. Bolts are aluminum, and the nuts are one-piece washer and nut. Since I got them directly from the company that makes the seats I assume this is what they were using a few years ago and maybe still today.

[DamagedCase]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I bought a few hundred of them from American Seating (the same people who built most of the stadium seats back in the early 1950s through today.) I can sell them for $1.50 each, minimum 10, postage $3.00 regardless of quantity bought.

Thanks for the offer but I would only need 4 to fix mine but I also need the square Robertson head to match.

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by DamagedCase

This is my new project. Dodgers Stadium field seats.
Thanks for all the helpful info on here.
These have been sitting outside in the LA sun since 2005. Beyond faded and corroded.
I found a way to properly restore the plastic seats and have been flip flopping with painting the metal legs/frame. Two different yellow colors appear. I’m guessing the first layer (light yellow) is closer to original. I can see red oxide primer under the yellow.

Since it’s still a 50/50 split on full restoration I’ve come here for advice.
I need to attack the rust issues first and I know it will disturb the paint anyway.

Any advice? Leave it? Or repaint?

These seats were pulled by my Dad from Dodger Stadium after the original construction in 1962. I had 20 at 1 time that were preserved under my grandmothers house until 2008. We had 8 in the backyard growing up that were painted a multitude of colors over the years.

When I wanted to redo a pair for my office, I wanted them as close to the way I remembered them as a child going with my grandfather. We sat Field Box Aisle 16 Row D Seat 7 & 8 every Sunday afternoon. I researched colors and repainted the rails as close to the original color that I pulled from the crawl space. They were in pretty good condition, but I wanted them re-done.

The backs were unpainted and again wanted them as close to the original colors I could find from that ERA and memory. They pay homage to my dad for his hard work in helping construct the stadium and my grandfather who took me to the most memorable games of my lifetime. I see both of them sitting in them smiling at me from time to time.

Hope that helps and wishing you a happy restoration whichever you choose.

[Bpm0014]

If anybody needs any parts for Shibe Field seats let me know. I have some extra backs and seats.

[RTK]

I have them both ways, personally I prefer them unrestored. It makes me think of them still in the stadium, who was first person to sit in it and who was the last. One aspect to consider is the paint on older seats tends to flake off easily, it could be lead based paint, a potential hazard for little kids and pets. I have a figural Polo Grounds seat that's been restored, it can be sat in safely without any issues which is pretty cool. One of these days I hope to find a seat from Ebbets Field and I actually have no preference whether it's restored or not. Either way, they're a great addition to a collection, they always draw attention.