just wondering if anyone knows a good way to restore an old glove...

JTMC

i just started collecting vintage baseball gloves( mantle , berra, koufax...) and was wondering what is the best way to restore the leather on them. some are a little worn. they dont have the real autographs on them. they have the facsimile autographs. what type of oil or conditioner would i use on the whole glove to bring them back to life. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

WinPitcher

Try leather balm or mink oil.


Steve

MooseDog

Like WinPitcher said, mink oil is good. My personal favorite is the old Rawlings Gloveoleum if you can find it. Another thing you might do is take the gloves to local store that sells leather goods and they might have some newer products for restoring leather.

Also, oil in stages, don't dump a whole lot at once. If the leather is really dry it will soak up the oil like a sponge, which you don't want.

NewJerseyMeatHook

Mink oil. Barbasol shaving cream works well, too. Not too much at one time. Rub thoroughly with an old rag.

Put softball in pocket when done. Form pocket to your liking and tie tightly with old skate laces or long shoe laces. Repeat process weekly.

JTMC

thanks guys for the info.

i have one more question. is there any thing you know of to remove old magic marker from a baseball glove?

i was thinking of trying a tiny bit of paint thiner. any recomendations?

baseballfanatic

One of the toughest things to do is remove old names from a glove. I've actually used a paint that was the same color, and then rubbed in in good when it dried with the rest of the glove. Not for resale, but just to make a nice display. I would never sell them without disclosing the fact it was done. Kinda like having 3 signatures erased off a ball to sell it as a single...