# Glass stopper removal



## timmy (May 11, 2012)

Hello All, I have a small Larkin Co. perfume that I found. The glass stopper is stuck. Would like to get it out so I can clean the bottle. Have tried WD 40 etc.. but no luck. Scared to put to much pressure on it for fear of breaking it off! Any suggestions! Thanks in advance, Timmy.


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## Bixel (May 11, 2012)

Try leaving WD-40 or something similar soaking around the top for a week or two. I have a couple bottles that I never did get the stopper out of. Sometimes it just becomes impossible.


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## surfaceone (May 11, 2012)

Hey Timmy,

 Those Larkin's stoppers seem to wanna stay in there sometimes. If you Search "stuck stopper" on the forum you should see some methods you might use.





From.


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## epackage (May 11, 2012)

Soaking it in WD40 is a good idea, I have had good luck with running bottles under slightly wamr water while rotating the bottle. The warmer water should help expand the glass slightly allowing you to remove the stopper...


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## JOETHECROW (May 11, 2012)

Yes,...be careful...I've removed many stuck stoppers successfully, but here's one that didn't quite survive the process...While exerting pressure on the stopper and gently trying to turn it, the bottle actually cracked, not the stopper. (Although it's usually the stopper) [8|] Original contents are still inside.[]


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## JOETHECROW (May 11, 2012)

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## madpaddla (May 14, 2012)

Yes the having warm water running over the neck and lip of the bottle have given pretty good results.  Let soak in the warm water if needed.


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## AntiqueMeds (May 14, 2012)

Best method I have found so far is to hold the bottle upsidedown over a towel and tap the neck/stopper with a wooden spoon handle (or wooden dowel) while rotating the bottle. It takes a while to losen it. It has worked on a couple perfume bottles.


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## timmy (May 15, 2012)

Thanks for all the suggestions! Will keep trying to get the stopper out.


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## mctaggart67 (May 21, 2012)

Pour water into an empty tin can or other similar container to a depth of an inch or two. Turn your problem bottle upside down and submerge it into the water so that the water level goes to the shoulder of the inverted bottle. Let the bottle stand like this for a day and then see if the stopper comes out. The capillary action should draw the water into the space, as miniscule as it is, between the stopper and the bottle neck and slowly dissolve whatever is sticking the stopper. You may have to wait a few days, but this process is pretty reliable and reduces the risk of breaking the stopper or bottle to almost zero. I recently bought a large collection of apothecary jars and removed the jambed up stoppers from about 30 of the bottles using this technique. Only one stubborn fellow wouldn't cooperated, making my success rate with this method clock in at 96%. By the way, when you remove the upside down bottle from the can or container, make sure you secure the stopper with your finger before you right the bottle.


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## mctaggart67 (May 21, 2012)

cooperate = cooperate


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## AntiqueMeds (May 21, 2012)

worth trying. it seems one of the things that freezes the stoppers are contents that dry and crystalize. The water could help with that.


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## cowseatmaize (May 21, 2012)

> The capillary action should draw the water into the space, as miniscule as it is, between the stopper and the bottle neck and slowly dissolve whatever is sticking the stopper.


I've tried that also with some success. I did find that a wide can was necessary to rotate the bottle about sideways to release the air that may get trapped around the edge. Does that make sense?


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## AntiqueMeds (May 21, 2012)

A solvent might work faster than water.


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## cyberdigger (May 21, 2012)

Ya I was thinking a few drops of acetone or nail polish remover (acetone) might get in there and dissolve the crystallized contents..


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## mctaggart67 (May 21, 2012)

Yep, solvents and even acids work, too, but always start with water, since it's not as volatile. Also, you don't want to start with a liquid that repels water because if such a liquid doesn't dissolve whatever subtance that's bonding the stopper to the bottle neck, then it will make water's job more difficult.


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