At the juggling festival last week I got eight of the Flying Karamazov Brothers to sign one of my juggling clubs. So now I really want to preserve it… is there a spray or something I can put on it to keep the signatures from smearing or rubbing off? It’s hard plastic and the signatures are in red and black Sharpie…
By the way, the FKBs are the greatest! 
Assuming the Sharpie signatures are sticking to the club OK, I’d get a display case for it and not touch it again.
If you’re sure that you want to try coating the signatures with something, try clear Krylon or artist’s fixative or whatever else on a different club with the same types of markers first, just to be sure it’s compatible with the ink and the plastic. ie: doesn’t make the ink dissolve and run, and doesn’t flake off the plastic.
The Container Store has lots of clear plastic display boxes for everything from golf balls to baseball bats - I’m sure they’ll have something in a suitable size.
That’s a good idea… but the signatures are on all sides so it might be hard to mount it in there… it hadn’t occured to me though. I will look into it! I was planning on shelving it and a case is probably safest…
Sharpies might not even smear, depending on the surface. Too bad the only way to test is to smear it.
If you must handle it, wear surgical gloves to keep the oil on your fingers off the ink.
A rotating lazy susan, with motor and a ring of LED spotlights, would allow you to display all sides to good effect. I’d draw the line at multicolored blinking LED spotlights, but your tastes may differ.
Another idea for the display case: Drill tiny holes in the top and bottom of the bowling pin, and then place the bowling pin inside your acrylic case atop a small revolving platter. By attaching a small dowel to the top of the pin, guests could then turn the bowling pin inside your display case, to see all the signatures, without actually touching it. Better yet, place your display case on a small lazy-Susan and that’s how admirers could turn the pin, without your having to drill into it.
Re: a spray/fixative/etc. I would call the Smithsonian Institution’s preservation experts. I did this 10-15 years ago and they were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction.
It doesn’t really smear but it does come off fairly easily especially if it is scratched at all.
They do make a clear fixative spray that’ll work for sharpies.
Common sharpies use an alcohol soluble ink anymore, which can respond badly to spray solvents, but lots of people seem to have success with a krylon spray fixative.
If you go this route, run a test before spraying your autographs.
Here is a picture of the club from various angles, by the way:
http://opalcat.com/IJA/2004Festival/fkb%20signed%20club_jpg.html
Thanks for the info, Squink!