Sideshow Banner Restoration & Repair

Sideshow banners live a crazy life and come in various conditions, many times with holes, rips and tears in the canvas. At Sideshow Banner Exchange, we take pride in our ability to stabilize and preserve banners so they can exist for as long as possible.

If you need your banner repaired or restored, please contact us for a quote or more information.

The below banner had over 20 holes in the canvas and only one was patched before it came to us. Some holes were as large as soccer balls. After careful patching and in-painting, the banner was properly restored back to what it once was.

Our Previous Restoration Work on Sideshow Banners

What we repair

• Holes and tears in the canvas, from pinholes to losses the size of a soccer ball
• Splits along fold lines, which is where most banners fail first
• Failed or missing grommets, and worn hem and rope channels
• Water staining, mildew damage, and surface grime
• Earlier repairs done badly, including duct tape, house paint, and iron-on patches

How the work is done

Every banner is assessed before anything is touched. We photograph the piece as it arrives, identify the artist where possible, and agree the scope with you before work starts.

Structural work comes first: the canvas is cleaned, then holes and tears are patched from behind so the original material is supported rather than replaced. In-painting follows, matched to the artist’s palette and kept to the area of loss. The goal is a banner that reads whole from viewing distance and is still honestly readable as an old object up close.

What we will not do

We will not repaint a banner to look new. Overpainting is the single fastest way to destroy the value of a piece, and a collector can always see it. If a banner would be worth more left alone, we will tell you that rather than take the job.

If your banner needs work, send photographs of the damage and the full banner and we will quote it. Do not clean, iron, or patch it first.