Paint Flaking Bat Problem

[godwulf]

I seem to recall a thread awhile back about this - paint coming off the barrel end of a gamer; my question, though, is not necessarily what caused it, but how to keep it from getting worse.

I just got ahold of a 5-year-old black Louisville Slugger, and the end of the barrel, to quote a Jim Croce song, "looks like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple o' pieces gone". A few of the remaining pieces are extremely loose, to where it looks like an errant breeze would remove them.

Do you think spraying the affected area with some kind of liquid adhesive or varnish or...jeez, I don't know, physics isn't my strong suit, ya know? :rolleyes:

[godwulf]

Okay, I've been thinking about it, and the spray adhesive doesn't seem like such a good idea...but now I'm thinking about putting some kind of wood sealer on the affected area...ya know, like that Behr stuff you put on decks and outdoor wood furniture. What do you think? That would most likely stop the cracking and the paint from peeling off, wouldn't you think?

[Jags Fan Dan]

Man, that is a tough one. I wouldn't want to experiment with anything of value. My Lenny Harris bat has this issue, but I'm just not inclined to try to fix it, for fear it will then be totally ruined.

[godwulf]

This would probably be the bat to experiment on, then. A Mitch Meluskey, for which I paid all of $1.04 plus shipping. :D

[godwulf]

Maybe I'll try it first on just a small area, on the back side of the barrel, and see what happens.

[AWA85]

Pretty nice price you paid there on the bat. :D Keep us updated on the results, if you don't mind testing the bat.

[godwulf]

First thing, the wood sealant is taking forever to dry. It may have some positive effect on future splitting and flaking, I don't know, it's too early to tell.

The main problem that I wanted to fix, though - the little paint pieces that are already loose, that are about half the size of your fingernail: no effect. In retrospect, I don't know why I thought that wood sealant would fix that. Short of gently lifting each piece off with a pair of stamp tongs, glueing it down, and then going over the end of the barrel with whatever that is they "seal" decoupage art with, I'm not coming up with anything.

Now, what did I do with those stamp tongs...

[godwulf]

Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all on the edge of your seats, waiting to find out what I do next. :rolleyes:

Today, I ended up doing what I first suggested I might do as a joke - I carefully lifted each loose paint flake and super-glued it down thoroughly.

Then I went over the barrel end with a brush-on, super-strength polyeurethane varnish. The only thing I did wrong (this time) was get the matte finish varnish, which doesn't match the gloss of the bat; I'll get a bottle of the glossy finish varnish tomorrow, since I was planning to use more than one coat anyway.

I'm hoping that the varnish will, if I put enough coats on, keep any more paint from flaking off.

[Jags Fan Dan]

If and when you achieve a decent result, post us up some pics!

[BMH]

If I hadn't dismantled the machine already I would think we could put another coat of UV on it :)

[godwulf]

Okay, I got and applied a few coats of the gloss varnish this time. Delta Ceramcoat is the brand name, and it comes in a 2 oz bottle, which I got at Michael's. I think this is gonna do the trick. It's just a tiny shade less glossy than the rest of the bat, but not a bad match, and I definitely think it's gonna reduce or eliminate any future flaking.

BMH, what kind of varnish do you use on these bats in the first place? You mentioned "UV", but what is that, exactly? Also, what is your theory about why this cracking and flaking thing happens in the first place?

[Jags Fan Dan]

Here's what he (BMH) said in the old thread:

"Alright, back in 2000 we started playing with a new finish procedure that would allow us to dry the bats in seconds using UV technology. It was a stunning finish when done properly, looked like glass. Anyway, the Black bats had problems because the first coat of clear wasn't drying properly before being sanded and having the second coat applied. The vapors from the first coat did thier best to get to the surface but couldn't. When the bats came out of the box and hit sunlight that dried the topcoat even more and shrinking causing the cracking. The program was terminated in 2004."

[godwulf]

Ah, that would explain it perfectly. This bat was used in 2003. Thanks!

[indyred]

These bats stick out like a sore thumb with this finish, they a very very shinny looking. When I was at the museum last, they had one of someone on display. May have been a Raffy.

[MUSEOVEN]

hello i have the same problem with a magglio ordonez and jose vidro bat..

[MUSEOVEN]

this is the other side of magglio bat

[godwulf]

I was awakened early this morning by the smell of something burning. I don't know what in the world kind of chemical reaction caused it, but between the wood sealer and all those coats of varnish and the superglue I used to keep the larger paint flakes down, my $1.04 Mitch Meluskey Oakland bat actually spontaneously combusted!

It was only smoldering by the time I got in there, but the entire barrel end was seriously scorched. I'm just glad that I was keeping it in there while the varnish competely dried, and hadn't yet put it back with the other bats. This is seriously weird. I'll post photos later today.

[Jags Fan Dan]

I think I smell an April Fool's joke at our expense!!!:D

[godwulf]

I think I smell an April Fool's joke at our expense!!!:D

Ah, you're no fun! Ya shoulda waited to see if anybody would take the bait.

[Jags Fan Dan]

Ah, you're no fun! Ya shoulda waited to see if anybody would take the bait.
Sorry! I never wanted to be a party pooper!:o