# Should I use muriatic acid?



## Wheelah23 (Apr 26, 2011)

I was debating how to clean this bottle that epackage so kindly gave me... But I'm not really sure what muriatic acid can/can't clean. I've heard it can't clean ground stain or iridescence, but I also hear people saying they use it all the time. What's the story? Does anyone have before and after pictures of bottles on which they used muriatic acid?

 Anyway, onto the bottle at hand. I have a feeling that muriatic would work wonders on this bottle. Underneath the dull stain, I can see a shiny, beautiful bottle! It was obviously never buried, due to the fact that it has the wire closure intact. I assume that if I used muriatic with the closure still on it, the wire would become corroded and useless. I am debating whether the closure is worth saving. The wire adds nothing aesthetically to the bottle, and is the only reason it isn't as shiny as its brothers. None of my other local bottles have the closures intact either, so this one also appears out of place in that sense. Putnam closures are hardly a unique thing, being used commonly throughout the 1860's-80's. The cork used to seal mine is missing, so I don't think it would really be a loss.

 Another option I am considering is taking the closure off with pliers, cleaning the bottle the best I can, then reattaching the wire to the (now cleaned) neck. Is it worth it to do this? Am I hurting the collectability of the bottle by removing the original closure? What do I do?


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## cyberdigger (Apr 26, 2011)

Gosh, little buddy.. sounds like you're gonna destroy that poor bottle and its annoyingly common 1860-80's closure.. try this instead:

 Get some Barkeeper's Friend and a celluloid sponge, and scrub that beauty to it's lustre-to-be.. don't forget the water.. and the sink..


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 26, 2011)

What if I wrapped the closure in plastic wrap, THEN dipped the bottle in the acid? I'm itching to test this stuff out on something...


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## cyberdigger (Apr 26, 2011)

Make a Bloody Mary.. actually, that'd be a virgin for you.. []


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## epackage (Apr 26, 2011)

Connor here is what I told your mom on how to use the Muriatic acid...I got this from Earl in Hawaii whose bottles always come out beautiful afterwards....Jim


 I use straight muriatic acid, the product name is called HASA, itis very strong industrial acid, I picked it up at a swimming pool supply store...Youhave to be very careful using it, do it outside, watch the wind direction, you want to be up wind, use rubber gloves anda mask, it does smoke when you pour it and you do not want to breaththe vapors, the way I clean bottles is put a small amount inside thebottle just enough to cover the base, then I put the bottle inside aplastic 5 gallon bucket, pour some acid inside the bucket just enoughto cover the bottom, then cover the bucket... I usually leave it in thebucket for 24 hours, the vapors of the acid is the one that cleans thebottle, remember when you open the bucket a lot of vapors will come outof the bucket, be very careful!!!!, I then rinse the bottle with water,I use a brush or sand to clean whatever the acid don't clean out, it'samazing how clean the bottle can get....


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## GuntherHess (Apr 26, 2011)

The most important rule of restoration is always start with the most mild form of cleaning and work your way up to the harshest.
 That goes for art, antiques, or bottles.
 If the milder cleaning works well enough then you need go no further.

 You are correct that muriatic will not clean etched or opalized glass.
 It can help on some staining.


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 26, 2011)

Wow, silly me... I forgot the pictures... What a foo'!

 Don't be fooled by the shine... I had the flash on... It's got a very dull luster in reality.

















 Well Jim... Thanks for the cleaning tip. I will see where I can get that. 

 I tried Lime-Away on a few different kinds of stain. It didn't work at all on the iridescent stain, and it worked a bit on the white hazy stain. It demolished the rust stains, so that's a plus.


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## GuntherHess (Apr 26, 2011)

Nice closure, a Hutter?
 Looks like it would break if you tried to remove it.


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 26, 2011)

It's a Putnam closure. It would've had a cork sliver in it that slides over the lip to seal it. 

 I would never think of demolishing a Hutter closure. Those are the ones that used the porcelain stoppers. In fact, I will need a few original ones once I find the bottles that match my stoppers...


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## GuntherHess (Apr 26, 2011)

http://www.sodasandbeers.com/Patents/SABPatent0023263.htm

 correct


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## epackage (Apr 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Wheelah23
> 
> It's a Putnam closure. It would've had a cork sliver in it that slides over the lip to seal it.
> 
> I would never think of demolishing a Hutter closure. Those are the ones that used the porcelain stoppers. In fact, I will need a few original ones once I find the bottles that match my stoppers...


 If your gonna take this Putnam off I'll send you a bunch of porcelain or lightnings in return for this one...let me know Con....Jim


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## epackage (Apr 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  lobeycat
> 
> HASA is a great product! I like to get my big fourty gallon cauldron boiling away under and oak fire in the back yard with about 20 gallons of the stuff. Makes an awful stink and the birds drop out of the sky for blocks around but the results can't be beat. Bring it to a rapid boil, pull up a lawn chair and just wait for the fire department's HAZMAT team to arrive. Best to be wearing a flashy pair of Bermuda shorts and a hockey mask when they storm your back yard. Stops 'em dead in their tracks. I've found scream singing "There's Gonna be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" delays things even further whilst the SWAT team is brought up.


 this seems a bit extreme since I told him the proper way to work with it in extremely small amounts....[8|]


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 27, 2011)

I got to cleaning the bottle today. I used pliers to remove the closure with minimal damage. I will be giving it back to epackage unharmed. Then, I got out some Bar Keepers Friend and went to work on the bottle. This product worked wonders on it. Eventually, the stain just faded right away. I swished some around inside as well, to remove the internal stain. Then, I used Lime-Away to get rid of the rust stain that was left over from the closure. Since the Bar Keepers Friend worked so well, I didn't even need to use Muriatic Acid.

 I think the results speak for themselves! The bottle was never buried, so I wasn't cleaning mineral stain, which I know is much harder to remove. Either way, the bottle turned out amazingly. It was a diamond in the rough before...


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 27, 2011)

shiny


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## Wheelah23 (Apr 27, 2011)

shiny


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## epackage (Apr 27, 2011)

Hey, I want it back now....LOL[8D]


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## GuntherHess (Apr 27, 2011)

looks good. The real test is let it totally dry and see if its still haze-less


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