# Cleaning Demo



## suzanne (Oct 29, 2011)

Today I am going to clean a really sick bottle. Minerals have leached into the glass. The pro's refer to this as etching. First I fill the bottle with water so I can see where the worst areas are on the outside. That way I won't be wasting time working on areas that don't need it. 

 OK, now I dump out the water and Sara takes a picture.  Look's like most of the problem is on the outside of the bottle, especially the back.










 Now I go find my cleaning stuff.  It actually takes me longer to find the supplies than to clean the bottle.  Since minerals have fused with the glass on the entire back of the bottle and a spot on the front  and areas of the sides so I have to remove the top layer of glass in these areas.  About half of the bottle is good so when I'm done it's still going to look presentable I hope.

 This is a picture of what I'm using:






  800 grit silicone carbide sandpaper to take off a glass layer, and  1000, 1500, and 2000 grit to polish the glass, bought at Autozone. 

  The packages of sandpaper came to about $15.00 but you get enough for lots of bottles.  I use the large eraser for the large areas and the pencil eraser for the small ones.  Large eraser and pencil are  from the dollar store.  I actually got about 20 pencil's for a dollar.  [] Soon the large areas are small and I finish off with the pencil eraser.  I spend an hour on this.  Actually, that 's longer than I needed to because a couple times I realized I was wasting time polishing when it was already done, then turning the bottle over and over to admire it, then polishing, then admiring; you get the picture.

 So now the outside of the bottle is done.  I dry out the inside and I can see a lot of haze in it.  I'm going to deal with that tomorrow maybe.  Anyway, here it is now.


 Front:






 Back:


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## SC pontil collector (Oct 29, 2011)

Suzanne,
 What do you use the eraser for?
 SCPC


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## Poison_Us (Oct 29, 2011)

I know this one...   Sanding block.  Being firm but squishy, you can get into corners and not poke thru the sandpaper like a wood block will.


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## suzanne (Oct 29, 2011)

That is correct.  Takes a lot more deposit off a lot faster than just using fingers to push sandpaper back and forth.  Even if you have all the time in the world, erasor still works better.

 Hopefully no one will think I just erased the sickness and is thinking about trying it.


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## Bixel (Oct 29, 2011)

I was actually hoping that someone had just discovered that for some reason erasers worked for this stuff, and had made cleaning bottles so much easier. Keep on dreaming I guess....[&o]

 No, but seriously, I knew what your plan with the eraser was.


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## cyberdigger (Oct 29, 2011)

Suze, are you sanding wet or dry?


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## SC pontil collector (Oct 29, 2011)

Hey Poison, 
 Thanks a lot.
 Hey poison, did you know Rudy Kuhn?
 SCPC


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## suzanne (Oct 30, 2011)




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## suzanne (Oct 30, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  cyberdigger
> 
> Suze, are you sanding wet or dry?


 
 It doesn't matter.  You can't generate enough heat by hand sanding to hurt a bottle.  If you ever tried something like this and thought it wasn't working, you just have to be kind of patient.  It takes a bottle a hundred years to end  up looking this bad and it doesn't come off in 5 minutes.  Wish it did.


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## Poison_Us (Oct 30, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  SC pontil collector
> 
> Hey Poison,
> Thanks a lot.
> ...


 
 No, but I wish I did.  I have talked with his wife a few times on the phone.  Nice lady.


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## Wheelah23 (Oct 30, 2011)

Hm, looks better if you ask me! I will look into this technique. Doesn't look like stellar results, but it's definitely faster and cheaper than tumbling... [&:]


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## suzanne (Oct 30, 2011)

Thank you.  You can many times make a considerable improvement  this way.  When I started the bottle was completely opaque.[:'(][:'(][:'(]It was nasty.

 Most sick bottles clean up a lot better than this one because they don't start out as bad.[]


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## chosi (Nov 2, 2011)

Suzanne,

 I'm currious how you deal with the inside of a bottle.  Are you going to share that with us too?


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## suzanne (Nov 3, 2011)

I was going to do a cleaning demo on that too sometime.  Unfortunately I ran out of sick bottles.  I've got a few that have sick spots but I need some that are really nasty so I can make a convincing demo.  I just did the insides of 5 really sick bottles a couple days ago but I never took pictures.  I could put up a picture of them now but  they 're clean.


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## glass man (Nov 3, 2011)

Cool Suzanne!Thank you for sharing!So very glad you have hung in here!I know it was a rocky start....but you are a valued member and I think most all would agree!!JAMIE


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## suzanne (Nov 3, 2011)

Thank you, Jamie.  I just wanted to demonstrate something that the average person who has never cleaned a bottle could do and get real results.  It wouldn't work for every situation; if a bottle is whittled, scratched, pitted, etc., you have to use a different approach.  Also dark colored bottles don't respond as dramatically as light colored ones do to sanding. They also require a different approach. At some point I might explain how but at the moment I am happy if some people can improve what they thought was impossible.


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## surfaceone (Nov 4, 2011)

Thank you suzanne,

 I appreciate the tips, cuz I'm cleaning challenged, 

 The prospect of winter's arrival makes me think there will be some cleaning opportunities on my dance card. I'd be delighted if you shared further tips and techniques.

 Are the results on colored bottles less dramatic simply because the colored glass tends to show every little jot and tickle?


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## suzanne (Nov 5, 2011)

I thought you had a tumbler.  What kind of bottles do you like?


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## suzanne (Nov 6, 2011)

(quote)

 Are the results on colored bottles less dramatic simply because the colored glass tends to show every little jot and tickle? 

 (quote) surfaceone

 I suspect it's because the glass is harder.  Anyway I don't sand them usually because it's harder to bring them back to "like new" condition after you do.  What I do, I clean the bottle and then set it in the light next to a brand new bottle, and if they don't have the same degree of sparkle on the outside, ( making allowances depending on how rough the old glass is)  I go back to cleaning it


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## suzanne (Nov 6, 2011)

Chosi, you wanted to know what I did about bottle insides so here's a picture, sorry I don't have a before, I wasn't thinking about it at the time.  But the usual cleaning methods were useless  on these 5 bottles.  They were all sick, chalky looking,  rusty,  and gunky on the inside.

 I don't recommend doing this unless you have experience with acids/chemicals.  Directions on the bottle need to be followed.  I use Whink Rust Stain Remover.  Hardware stores carry it, usually 6.00 for a large bottle. It's like CLR times 10.  It's a weak hydrofluoric acid solution.  50 bottles of CLR, Limeaway, The Works, whatever,  won't do what 2 tablespoons of Whink Rust Stain Remover will do.  

 If you decide to try this, dispose of in toilet when done and  flush immediately, pets drink from toilet when you are not looking.  Don't leave bottles of it sitting around untended where they could be knocked over, put them out of reach somewhere.

 It works great on green bottles because green is the natural color of glass. But if you use it on aqua, clear, brown, etc., you can't leave it in the bottle too long, because it will cause haziness if you do.  The best way is to wear rubber gloves, put some in the bottle, and roll the bottle around until you see the deposits flaking off into the liquid. Or you can soak one side for 10 minutes, then the next side for 10 minutes, etc. You just need enough liquid to completely cover the bottom side of the bottle when it's laying down.

 None of the bottles are crystal clear, but they all look a lot better. The second on to the left is sick outside, but it looks pretty cool.. so I'm leaving it that way. I know it doesn't look very cool in this picture (my camera sucks) but it does in real life.  They all look good, actually.


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## suzanne (Nov 6, 2011)

There's one other thing I forgot to mention.  You should not use it on the outside of a bottle if it has a lot of scratches or casewear because it can eat into the scratches and make them look worse.  If you accidentally get some on the outside it washes off with water.


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