Bottle Cleaning Advise

[mmerrig]

I have three pre-prohibition bottles that have been washed with soap and water. There still have stains and appear cloudy. I'm looking for advise on how to get rid and haze and stains.

[Leon]

I got some advise. Tumble it. Before & after pics below.

[pinnacle-project]

Tumble it? Please be more specific. Thanks.

[Atlantic Guy]

A tumbler is a device that uses a motor to roll the bottle in a tube filled with abrasive media (in and outside the bottle) to slowly rub off the stains and light wear. It can take days to do it. Some people make their own tumblers and others send their bottles to bottle cleaner guys who have multiple tumblers. Most charge $10 - 20 per bottle.

It can be quite expensive to build a good one and then you have to buy the right media to use in it. Bottles can be damaged or broken if it is done wrong. Here is a site of one tumbler maker/supplier. I'm sure there are others. Some on here may have their own tumblers so they may advise you better on doing it yourself.

http://www.jardoctor.com/

Ken

[Mike S]

I believe there is a member here who does bottle tumbling.

Mike s

[Chris E.]

Mike M.
There is a guy in the Richmond Bottle Club that is excellent in tumbling bottles. He lives here in Richmond. If you want, you can bring the bottles to the Kindred Spirits Show and somebody can get them to him for tumbling.

Chris E.

[pinnacle-project]

Here is an interesting video that walks through the tumbling process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t97-sGy_Cg

[canhawk]

I only have a few bottles and tumbling is not an option. To remove white mineral deposit I soak in vinegar or calcium-lime-rust/lime-away solution. After rinsing, I add a handful of copper BB's using a small funnel, with soap and water, and swirl around. This often does not remove all deposits. Some bottle collectors use muriatic acid.