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Authenticity is Everything
Removing authentication sticker from baseball?
I had sent in this vintage ball to be signed by Yogi Berra, and they stupidly put their sticker on the ball. I'm wondering if there are any techniques that can safely remove the sticker without leaving damage or residue. On the ball, the sticker is a little bumpy in the middle, so maybe if I could grab it with a tweezer and gently take it off, it would be good but I don't want to attempt anything just yet. If anyone has any recommendations, I greatly appreciate the help!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on
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Oh my... that is terrible. I would certainly remove it.
I have removed holograms from balls with decent results. A Steiner sticker left a slightly sticky residue, but I carefully rubbed the spot with a microfiber cloth and it removed almost all the residue.
I would take it off asap before it ingrains itself any deeper into the leather surface. Use your fingers and a tweezer if any little pieces remain. Then go with the microfiber cloth. Even if there was a little mark remaining, it would still look better than that ghastly sticker. It's not a snow white ball anyway, so chances are any remaining mark would blend in pretty well.
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Permalink Reply by Mike P on
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Thanks Zip! I was surprised that I would have had to explicitly say no stickers on it when I sent it to them, but it is what it is. Would you slightly dampen the cloth is that a no go?
If there is any glue residue left over, should I attempt to remove it; is there anything to remove the glue?
I appreciate the help!
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No, use a dry microfiber cloth. The microfiber itself is a very mild abrasive that will rub off the sticky residue... Wetting it will only lessen the effectiveness. You may need to rub it a bit using just your fingertip over the affected area. Use different areas of the cloth so you are never rubbing dirt you removed back in.
If there is still residue after the microfiber, a tiny bit of Goo Gone on the tip of a Q-Tip will probably do it.
By the way, I have used microfiber to also remove surface dirt, light ink smears, finger marks. Basically it will help remove light SURFACE dirt and smudges. If something has really sunk into the leather surface, nothing can help it.
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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on
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that is one big ass sticker.....awful
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Tell me about it. Lesson learned: always be specific with signing instructions
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Just wanted to update, I managed to remove the sticker. I used tweezers and had a microfiber cloth handy but didn't need to use it. There wasn't any residue left on the ball, however, since the ball was dirty, it did leave it looking white in the area where the sticker was in certain spots more than others. I'll try to upload a picture when I get the chance.
Does anyone know of a HOF player/announcer that has a small enough signature that would fit in the sticker's area? I wanted to keep the panel just announcers, since I have Vin Scully, Mel Allen, and Holy Cow Carey on the side where the sticker is; but, if it will make the ball look nicer, I'd add another player to it if need be.
I'm not sure if I should leave it alone, or get someone to sign above like I did with Johnny Bench. Yogi is one of the nicest around, but sending this ball to him has caused a real pain haha..
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I think you are hitting a zone of diminishing returns. Unless it is a name with a lot of pop that you must have, just leave it be.
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Will Do zip. I'm sure it does, but do you think this whole ordeal dramatically reduced the value/appeal of the ball? I hoped to make it more appealing adding the other two but I guess we always learn.
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I don't think it diminishes at all. Unless the spot looks like it was bleached, most people would probably never notice. Many balls do not tone evenly anyway.
If the white spot really sticks out, just take a tiny amount of dirt and rub it in. Why not?
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I definitely will look into that! Even clay might do it too. Thanks for all the advice!
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Maxwell on
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Buy your own Lena Blackburne rubbing mud! The mud used to rub the baseballs is a great story. The company uses the same spot in a New Jersey river to dredge up some mud every year and baseball uses the same mud every year. Its such a weird concept.
Let me tell you how annoying rubbing baseballs gets every game. It is fun the first few times you do it, but it gets real old, real fast. Most high level umpires tip the clubhouse staff to rub the baseballs for them and most lower level umpires really stink at it!
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