Vintage football care/restoration

[miracleonice80]

Hi.....I have a few '60's and '70's game used NFL/AFL footballs.....I was wondering what to do as far as restoring the cowhide. The balls have a few scratches and blemishes.....but the leather looks like it needs to be brought out more. Any ideas? Thanks! Tony

[dplettn]

Given the size of a football, I think game balls display best painted. I've used a young man who painted a game ball for me from the most improved record in D1 history. That particularly worked well because he was part of the team so it added to the ball's character. This may only make sense if their is something unique that a ball commemorates, but if the idea of ball-painting appeals to you for display I'd be more than happy to share his contact info. He was exceptional.

plettner@fuse.net

[RaiderNationPDX]

If you're just looking for restoration, I (and others on the forum it seems) have had great results from Steve Hill with Hammer Sports Relics. Excellent work, and his pricing is reasonable. His site is www.hammersportsrelics.com (http://www.hammersportsrelics.com/). I've purchased one football from him already restored and sent another in for restoration, and have been very pleased with how each has looked.

If you're just looking for some conditioner, I haven't really found one that doesn't noticeably darken the leather (I believe I started a thread about a month ago to that end; no suggestions). From baseball guys, I hear straight lanolin doesn't darken leather, but I personally haven't tried it yet.

[miracleonice80]

Thanks for the responses.....I have some '60's and '70's NFL and AFL game balls......they are in good shape, but need bladder repalcements......I just wanna make sure that the repairs are not too invasive to the ball. And, if I do get the ball reconditioned, I don't want it to be too dark.....