Baseball bat finish?

[Joe Shinall]

I'm turning a maple and an ash baseball bat. I've played baseball for 24 years and I have no clue what kind of finish they put on the bats. Anybody have a clue?

[Zach England]

I have finished mine with waterlox lacquer, but mine are just novelty items.

[Joe Shinall]

These will actually be used. Our league is going to wooden bats next year and I've been asked to make a bunch. I'm guessing a laquer of some sort but I've never used laquer. I know the finish must be hard as it will take a beating.

[Clarence Miller]

I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Louisville slugger factory and although they did not say the exact finish they were using, they were dipping them and it smelled like a waterborne poly to me

[Shawn Christ]

I found a few good discussions on this topic:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=22479

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas..._Finishes.html

One guy recommends shellac, others use gloss poly. Another recommend the inexpensive RIT dye at your local grocery store if you want a colored finish.

Also found some interesting info on ash vs. maple (but not the finish) at http://www.slugger.com/technology/wood.html.

Good luck with the finish and let us know what you decide to use. I don't own a lathe and have never turned anything but always thought it would be fun to make some bats for my young boys.

[Scott Holmes]

That may be the case but it wasn't your every day over the counter water-borne.

I'd opt for an oil-based finish, more durable than water-borne OTC finishes..

[Craig Hemsath]

Would you want any type of hard film finish? I think anything would eventually crack/break off.

How about something like a hot wax?

[Steve Schoene]

Aren't there some liability issues involved with making bats for use by others?

[Joe Shinall]

Aren't there some liability issues involved with making bats for use by others?

Baseball is not a liability sport. Play and use equipment at your own risk.

I use a bat myself that has no finish on it at all. It's birch and just sanded down. But I wanted to darken these up a little with something. But like Craig said I don't want anything that will break or chip off also. Looks like time for experimentation

[Mike Null]

I would definitely use poly. Lacquer works well and was used for years but it seems today's bats have a thinner and less durable finish than the old bats.

Bats get wet so they need to have a finish.

[Joe Shinall]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I am going to try shellac and poly and see how it does. Really doesn't matter as long as it looks good. We only play once a week so a bat will not get a ton of use over a season. I am also going to try the RIT dye to see how that turns out for team colors.