# irradiating old bottles.



## Worldcupkeeper (Apr 19, 2007)

I know this is a touchy subject with some people but I wanted to know whats an easy way to irradiate old bottles. Ive got a few that I would like to try and see what happens. NONE of these will ever be sold, just put into my collection to add color to my common bottle collection.


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## whosyerdaddy (Apr 19, 2007)

worldcup,    i saw an old bottle mag article one time that said 2 use a germicide lamp mounted in the lid of a wooden box lined with alum foil would do the trick. never tried it but should work. i think those are the lights they use to sterilize medical equipment?  or just put it in the sun for about a year or so. lol  won't work in a window these filter out the UV rays.


 whosyer


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## Worldcupkeeper (Apr 19, 2007)

Well ive got a plastic tub lined with aluminum foil and the lid has foil on it as well with 2 florescent plant grow lights on it as ive heard they will work too. Do you think those will do it? Ive got plenty UVB lights laying around, should I try one of them?


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## whosyerdaddy (Apr 19, 2007)

worldcup,   i dont no what the "nuke"  gurus use to purple their bottles, but i do no that after awhile those "nuked" bottles will turn an ugly color of brown. also if the bottle has any aqua color at all it will not purple. i think the absence of maganese in the bottles is what caused them to purple.  some of the ABM bottles will not color either. it takes alittle while under the lites to do this. that is why they started nukeing them it was quicker.  we used to put them on top of the roof with the necks pointed down so no water could get in and freeze them. then we just forgot bvout for awhile. i think the germicide lites can be picked up from any medical supply co.  for the plant lites i dont no bout them. sorry




 whosyer


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## bottlenutboy (Apr 19, 2007)

the bottles purple from the PRESENCE of manganese! the more of it the darker the color! i personally do not care for this process, and hate to condone such behavior, but for the sake of information i will explain what i have gathered from talking to people who have done it theirselves...

 first off to determine which ones will turn you use a black light what happens is under a black light the manganese glows a yellow color after you have the bottles you want to turn you use the germ bulbs in the box just as described above but any UV radiation will work some will take longer depending on the strength of the bulbs

 all above information is not guaranteed as i said above i dont not personally know THIS IS ONLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD


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## CALDIGR2 (Apr 19, 2007)

Back in the mid-'70s, when I worked in a nuclear power plant, we would take clear bottles containing manganese,wrap them in double sealed plastic bags, and drop them into the spent fuel pool next to the hot fuel rods. Shazaam! Instant purple bottles. It was fun and safe, so we did dozens of bottles for friends and relatives. 

 Some clear bottles, those with a straw cast to them, would turn a very dark amber coloration, too. That would fade over time, leaving the glass kind of a weird yellowish tone.


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## GuntherHess (Apr 19, 2007)

It never ceases to amaze me how much crazy folklore there is out there for such a simple process[]

 I'm not saying anyone should try this at home, but a lamp such as this
http://cgi.ebay.com/Central-Air-Conditioning-Ultraviolet-Germicide-UV-Light_W0QQitemZ280045333756QQihZ018QQcategoryZ43510QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
 or many others similar to it will turn bottles with manganese violet. It is EXACTLY the same phyical prcess as sunlight...yes really. And if done in moderation there is no possible way to tell those bottles from sun colored bottles. The bottles will not fade, turn yellow, grow hair , or do any other odd things, they will just be amethyst tinted. 

 i hope i havent given away any sacred bottle secrets[] 

 PS if you want to experiment DONT look at UV lamps unless you want your eyeballs fried.


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## bottlenutboy (Apr 19, 2007)

i have heard that baking them in the oven at a very low temperature will restore them to original...


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## GuntherHess (Apr 19, 2007)

> i have heard that baking them in the oven at a very low temperature will restore them to original...


 
 I havent tried that. I seem to remember some bottle club members doing some experiments like that with fruit jars. It had something to do with clear ones being worth more than SCA ones. I dont remember the results. Its a good experiment for you to try. Maybe a good science fair project??? post your results.


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## baltbottles (Apr 19, 2007)

From what I have been told the large scale purple bottle makers are exposing their bottles to Cobalt-60 This is the same element used to irradiat food to kill bacteria.

 Chris


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## GuntherHess (Apr 19, 2007)

ya you can definately do some glass coloration with nuclear radiation but not recommended for the home user []  

 Those MREs last forever dont they?


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## capsoda (Apr 20, 2007)

I have cleared the purple from sodas and fruit jars with the oven in my kitchen. It takes several hours and should be done when you know no one will open the oven to see whats cooking. They have to cool slowly and if the oven door is opened before the are cool to the touch (2 to 3 hours is what I do) they will fracture all to hell. Don't do it on non tempered bottles and jars.

 From experance.


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## jamus (Apr 21, 2007)

From what I heard, magnese was only used to make glass clear from 1880- 1915. In the great war,  magnese was needed to make clear wind sheilds for fighter planes and the main suplyer of magnese was close to Germany. After that magnese was replaced by selenium oxide wich turns a yellowish color when exposed to sunlight. It was used up until 1930. After that silica sand was added to glass to make it clear.


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## AiXeLsyD13 (Apr 25, 2007)

So, does "irradiating" bottles make them appear older, or is it just something to do, or what?


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