# Steel Wool?



## Asterx (Aug 30, 2010)

To all you steel wool users, a question:  I've got some #00 and some #0000 steel wool, and I have a patch of exterior haze on a national bitters on the corn kernals.  I've experiemented a bit with junk bottles with dish soap water and steel wool, barkeepers friend water and steel wool, and just dry steel wool.  I've managed to clean a decent amount of haze from these bottles but cant tell which method works best, soap, BKF, or just water, or dry.  Also it has taken an extreme amount of "elbow grease" to make head way.  Usually I have to rest the bottle on a towel on the floor and really use my arm muscles to impact it.  I don't believe I've scratched any bottles yet but it's difficult to tell.  So:  any tricks of the steel wool trade?  Tumbling the Nat. Bitters isn't an option for me due to finances.  Can I scratch the bottle with #00?  it seems the only thing that works, the #0000 is very slow and cant really tell if it works.  Does any glass, like in tumbling get removed in this process?  Also, again what do you use with your wool pad, soap??  Thanks for reading!  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated..  I'd like this corn ear to shine


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## RED Matthews (Aug 30, 2010)

Hi astrerisk80;  If it were me doing it I would mix a paste of water and denture cleaner.  I get Equate Denture Cleaner with Baking Soda at WalMart.   When I do it I leave it on over night and then if necessary I use "000" steel wool to clean it off.  Everyone has little different tricks - that is for sure.  You will do less damage to the glass skin with the 0000 steel wool, I am sure.   RED Matthews


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## GuntherHess (Aug 30, 2010)

> Does any glass, like in tumbling get removed in this process?


 
 No glass is removed in a tumbler loaded with polish compound, only a cutting compound will remove glass.


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## cyberdigger (Aug 30, 2010)

I say 48 hours in a final polish tumble cycle and the bottle will sparkle nicer than new.. I remember the hazy patch on the kernels.. it will buff out very nicely..


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## Asterx (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks Cyber and RED, 

 Cyber: I'm begining to understand the various levels of tumbling, how some cut and some polish.  Thanks for the ideas 

 RED:  I've got my haze patch covered in a denture cleaner and baking soda paste, going to let it dry and see what happens,  Thanks for the idea!  I'll let you know


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## Asterx (Sep 1, 2010)

Well I gave the denture and bakingsoda my best shot, must be a haze thats immune to the technique... first I tried #0000 to scrub it off with a little bit of water, then a #00 when that wasn't working.  Red, did you mean to try to scrub it with a dry steel wool pad and no water?  I was afraid that might scratch... hmm.  Anyother ideas?  Thanks


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## suzanne (Sep 4, 2010)

We have hard water and our drinking glasses will develop sickness if you forget and leave them sit somewhere.  In order to remove it I use an SOS pad made out of steel wool.  You can buy them anywhere in the housewares section. They don't remove a hundred years of sickness however.  Neither does denture cleaner or baking soda.  You should stop battling with this bottle before you break it or something.  Put it in a dresser drawer and stop looking at it, already!  It looks fine!  In order to do a professional type sparkle job on your bottle here are the REAL alternatives:

 Your bottle is worth it so sent it to a pro.  I think last time I checked they can polish it for 20 dollars.  How awesome is that?  And then you can stop obsessing about it and move on in life.  (just joking, don't be mad at me!)

 Buy  new tumbler and supplies  for a thousand dollars

 Make tumbler at home using trial and error method and waste a thousand dollars

 Go to auto supply store, spend a hundred dollars, and go home with enough stuff to make lots of bottles sparkly if you know what your doing

 Put oil on it.  I never do this though because I don't like to get oily.

 Sorry, there is no magic formula.


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## bottle_head9 (Sep 4, 2010)

I thought the "magic formula" was in your book.LOL I didn`t see any mention of it.Are you still selling them?


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## suzanne (Sep 4, 2010)

No I am not as I am into other interests.  But it's great to be able to pick up a nice but sick bottle, take it home, and make it sparkle, in short order.  I feel kind of sorry for people struggling with their sick bottles because I know first hand the angst this causes.


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## bottle_head9 (Sep 4, 2010)

So, you can tell us all the way to really get a bottle to sparkle, or is it still "top secret"?


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## suzanne (Sep 4, 2010)

I got on and offered advice free a few times but I really hate  to because it's out of context and therefore not helpful in every situation.  The last thing I ever want is to tell someone something that is not going to help them, because I can't see what they've got, and then they're going to think I'm full of crap.  Part of doing a professional job is understanding exactly what your dealing with and how to resolve that particular situation without wasting time and money.  Those who become good at fixing or tumbling bottles know this. They put in the work.  But there is nothing you can pour on a bottle and make it mint.  If there was I'd have a boat load of it.


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## bottle_head9 (Sep 4, 2010)

> ORIGINAL:  suzanne
> 
> No I am not as I am into other interests.Â  But it's great to be able to pick up a nice but sick bottle, take it home, and make it sparkle, in short order.Â  I feel kind of sorry for people struggling with their sick bottles because I know first hand the angst this causes.


 I guess what I was trying to say, is why don`t you just tell the fella with the National Bitters, how to make it sparkle, in short order?It can`t be that complicated.


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## suzanne (Sep 4, 2010)

The bottle is very nice and I would love to be helpful  but I don't give internet advice anymore.  I have to have a bottle right in front of me so I can tell what to do.  Otherwise I run the risk of someone  losing their glass texture by taking unnecessarily aggresive steps, and ending up with the window pane look, or not getting results at all by doing something that don't even address their problem, and then getting mad at me.  Half the battle is knowing what your dealing with.  I am sorry.


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## Lordbud (Sep 5, 2010)

> No I am not as I am into other interests.


 
 I had a good amount of discretionary spending money the past few months, and yet ebay has been bereft of any interesting bottles during this time period. Couldn't make it to the Reno show, and the Downieville show is a little on the "high end" for my tastes/financials in bottles. So 'other interests' have become well - interesting to me. Local advertising items on the other hand have been rather plentiful of late, on the 'bay. It is amazing to break out of the bottle mold, so to speak [8D] and focus on items equally interesting to me that are also from my local area and/or state. Lot of 10 local button hooks, with one rusty Chicago hook...


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## RED Matthews (Sep 5, 2010)

Hello Lordbud, I have quite a few button hooks and bottle openers, but I decided to ask you if you have ever collected any milk bottle cap lifters.  Early milk bottle caps were a plain round disc that was pushed into the ring seat on top of a milk bottle.  The idea was to make the same type of handle that showed a Dairy's name on the handle, but had an end on the tool that was about 5/16" to 3/8" width and then a flat pointed tip that could be pushed into the lid and allowed the user to pry lift the lid out of the seat.   These are considered a neat GO-WITH by a lot of Milk Bottle Collectors.  Thanks for showing us your deviation from glass.  It happens to all of us!!  RED Matthews


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## cyberdigger (Sep 5, 2010)

Button hooks, eh? ahaaa.. I thought all this time they were for.. you know.. digging out those stubborn boogers...


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## div2roty (Sep 6, 2010)

Lordbud,
 Nice change of direction on this thread.

 Personal I collect soda adv, pottery, art and folk art, some of which are seen in my moving to dc thread under the displaying section.


 Matt


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