Signed Baseballs question

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

thanks for the info, i appreciate it. i always thought sharpie bleeds into baseballs.

also, i forgo to add last time.what choices do we have in avoiding fading? my thoughts are with spraying with krylon, it will at least "lock in" the signature preventing it from fading. if we dont spray with krylon, the signature will fade over time guaranteed. your thoughts on this?

I would not spray the balls. It may turn them an ugly yellow or make the ink signatures bleed, and it won't protect them from UV either. The ink could still fade even if under a layer of Krylon.

Here is what I do:

* Use Ultra Pro UV ball cubes
* Display the balls a few at a time and rotate every few months. Keep them in a dark closet when not on display.
* Put them in a spot where they will not be hit by direct sunlight
* If you are work for the day, draw the blinds in the room
* Do not use florescent lighting

Using these steps, the balls will go many years with no signs of fading, and you will be able to enjoy them.

[yanksfan09]

Use LED bulbs , no UV.

[homerunhitter]

thank you, I will take your advice on the lighting and uv cubes to display. I appreciate your help because for years and years my collection has been stored away in a box in the dark, what is the fun and purpose of collecting if you cant display it? (its a very slippery slope, because I want to/and will display my signed items, but also dont want them to fade!) I think if I take the advice here, my signed items should last at least my life time (they can fade after im long gone, but ill enjoy them NOW!