Alcohol dissolves shellac. Denatured alcohol is used as it contains no or nearly no water. Alcohol makes it dry clear, water makes it cloudy- why coasters are needed on shallac finished furniture.
But trying to remove shellac from a ball with good autographs isn't something I'd try. As Brandon said the shellac partially bonds to the ink. (Probably technically the other way around as the inks for fountain pens are dye in a water/detergent carrier- but that's just splitting hairs, the end result is the same.) The pen ink on leather actually dyes it, but the dyes don't really get dry for some time. When shellaced some of the dye migrates into the shellac, which is slightly soluble in water. . How much depends on how deeply the dye got into the leather. And that's inconsistent.
Plus the shellac also gets into the pores of the leather. So trying to remove part of the shellac will also remove some of the autograph, and it will probably come out blotchy, more white in areas where the leather is less porous.
It's possible a trained person like a restorer/conservator with a light touch could gradually remove a little of the shellac. But I'm thinking it would be a slow process, several hours over a few days. And even then the results might not be all that good.
That ball actually looks pretty nice as-is, and the shellac isn't doing any real damage. Just keep it clean and out of strong sunlight. Shellac darkens over time and with strong sunlight exposure.
Steve B
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