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Removing Labels

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I found a craigslist ad for someone who was getting out of brewing, for about 100 bucks I got almost 300 bottles of various sizes, 3 carboys, and some various odds and ends (caps, corks, brushes, so on). I actually got them LAST summer and just hadn't got around to processing the hoard till THIS summer. I'd had plenty of clean, new bottles from my first couple of excursions to the LHBS to bottle what I had done so far + gifts from family/friends. I was getting to the end of my clean bottle supply though, so it was only now I discovered the corona case. Will know to stay away from them from now on!
 
Soyala_Amaya said:
I was getting to the end of my clean bottle supply though, so it was only now I discovered the corona case. Will know to stay away from them from now on!
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I think I kept a box of those just because they were clear... they'd be for my own use (hydromels or perry) since I know they'll never come clean... Too bad Bacardi Breezers come in plastic now, those bottles were perfect...
 
wayneb said:
I'm pretty sure the Corona labels are "baked on" enamels, and I've not found any reliable way of removing them either. I just don't bother to re-use Corona bottles. As I can't stand the swill, personally, I don't usually end up with many Corona empties anyway. ;)
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But other ppl drink them, and they're pretty and clear. :-(
I can't stand any beer. So most of my empties are gifts.
A stainless steel scourer will remove the label, but it requires the application of too much elbow grease IMHO.

Thanks for the tip, the baked enamel would certainly explain the imperviousness to thinners. :-(
 
Bottles from grocery store

Soyala_Amaya said:
for about 100 bucks I got almost 300 bottles of various sizes, 3 carboys, and some various odds and ends
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In my state we have a nickel bottle deposit. Therefore my grocery gets returned bottles so people can get their deposit back. The grocer lets me go thru the bottle bin and pick out the ones I want for 5¢ each.;D
 
delco said:
In my state we have a nickel bottle deposit. Therefore my grocery gets returned bottles so people can get their deposit back. The grocer lets me go thru the bottle bin and pick out the ones I want for 5¢ each.;D
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I still got the carboys and other supplies for my 100 bucks, and my state doesn't have bottle deposits. So it was a good deal to me!
 
skunkboy said:
Anyone know of anything bottled in clear glass 12 oz bottles anymore?
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Many imported Italian lemonades are 8-9 oz and clear, I use these cos they're a buck fifty when full. Cheaper than drinking booze :-)

Obviously coronas, but they have nasty labels.
There was another Mexican beer I can't remember that was clear.
I think there's a German one too.

Champagne bottles are great too, but these are 24 oz generally. The cheap sweet swill my wife likes comes in flint bottles. I crown seal these too.
 
I found that Mexican beer I was talking about.
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:) Actually the mechanical isn't suction, it's scraping, snails have tongues... but who knows, maybe snail slime does loosen labels the way fabric softener loosens wallpaper!
 
I just de-labeled a bunch of bottles. What I've found to work well with the self-adhesive labels, like the BNektar bottles, is to pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees, and let the bottles 'bake' for roughly 1/2 hour. This softens the glue enough that you can pick up the bottle by the neck with an oven mitt, and peel the label off in one smooth shot. I get the corner of the label started with a single-edge razor blade. Most of the time this will remove the label leaving behind a bit of adhesive, which comes right off with a bit of acetone and a rag.

The paper-and-paste labels come right off with a good soak. I wish they were all paper and paste!

Today is bottling day for me. Going to invest in a filter today; my carboys werre nice and crystal clear. Moving them to the bottling table stirred up the bottom slighly, and now they're faintly hazy. Somewhat aggravating.
 
And here I was wondering if my method of using WD40 was too harsh, but oven cleaner and Oxy Clean and such... Yeah, I no longer feel so bad (=

Just remove the paper/plastic parts, spray the bottle when it's completely dry, come back and pretty much wipe off.

Life Rules:
1) If it moves and it should not - Duct tape.
2) If it does not move and it should - WD 40.

I just applied rule #2 and it worked (=
 
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Soaking Corona bottles in a dilution of distilled white vinegar does a fairly good job of removing the enamel. On close examination I still see a dull haze of the label, varying from bottle to bottle, but I haven't put any elbow grease to them yet. Just soak for 12-24 hours then give a good wipe and rinse.
 
Medsen maid mention to me about cleaning out one of my primary buckets with PBW, as it smelled and was stained with grapefruit.

Last night I decided to give it a try for beer bottles. I made a solution of the PBW, in one of my buckets, put the bottles in, some with labels still on, some with labels peeled but the glue still on.

Tonight I checked and the bottles, every one of them, were completely cleaned of the labels and glue. There was no elbow greased required on my part to get them off, just wash them out to get the PBW off them and let them dry.

I think I will be doing this from hence forth, instead of the WD40 method that required, well, work! (=

Enjoy!
 
CrystalSitral said:
Soaking Corona bottles in a dilution of distilled white vinegar does a fairly good job of removing the enamel. On close examination I still see a dull haze of the label, varying from bottle to bottle, but I haven't put any elbow grease to them yet. Just soak for 12-24 hours then give a good wipe and rinse.
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Thanks for that tip, if I find any that I didn't already return, I'll give that a try... what dilution do you use?
 
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