Hi there,

I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove old
labels from wine bottles?

Thanks.

In message >, Akator
> writes
>
>I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to
>remove old labels from wine bottles?

I soak mine for a few minutes in very hot water - probably about 60°C,
maybe a little more, with ordinary detergent added. Wearing rubber
gloves at this point makes it so much easier. Most labels detach very
easily at that point, and just need a quick scrub with a cloth or
scouring pad to remove the last of the adhesive. Any that don't, I then
attack with an ordinary table knife, to scrape the paper off; again,
after the paper's gone, a scouring pad usually gets rid of the residue.

Occasionally the adhesive is particularly tenacious (bad marks here to
Tatachilla Grenache - gorgeous wine, lovely styled bottles, horrible
adhesive), and just smears out into a sticky mess. In which case, I put
these few aside for running the tail ends of the racking into.
--
www.newforestartgallery.co.uk
www.badminston.demon.co.uk www.robinsomes.co.uk
www.amazonian-fish.co.uk www.pisces-conservation.com
www.irchouse.demon.co.uk www.blackwell-science.com/southwood
Trust me, I'm a webmaster...

We've gotten quite good with the label removing process.
First you have to sort them.
There are water soluble labels and pain in the butt labels. To know which
from which you have to look at the label from the back of the bottle
(through the glass to see the unprinted side, if that makes any sense) if
there seem to be lines of glue, like the back side is striped with glue,
then it's water soluble.
You can also check by trying to peel it off, if the corner that you manage
to lift off is sticky to the touch don't put it in water! Makes it worse
trying to get it off later. Most of the water soluble ones will just slip
off with a 30 minute soak. The rest you will have to get off by applying an
adhesive remover/gas/paint solvent or whatever you may have ( don't get this
in your bottles ) and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then gently peel it
off re-applying your solvent if necessary.
After that it's just a matter of the usual bottle cleaning routine.
Hope this helps!
Louise)

"Akator" > wrote in message
...
> Hi there,
>
> I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove
old
> labels from wine bottles?
>
> Thanks.
>
>

Water-based glue labels come off fairly easily with a 30-minute hot-water
soak.

Commercial labels come off with a combination of a scraper and paint-thinner
or solvent.. scrape, lightly soak/sponge for 10 minutes, scrape again, then
soak.. Once off, finally wash with dish soap and rinse.

I've gotten too lazy to deal with commercial labels and end up just buying
new bottles.

LG

>Hi there,
>
>I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove old
>labels from wine bottles?
>
>Thanks.

Robin Somes > wrote:

> Occasionally the adhesive is particularly tenacious (bad marks here to
> Tatachilla Grenache - gorgeous wine, lovely styled bottles, horrible
> adhesive), and just smears out into a sticky mess. In which case, I put
> these few aside for running the tail ends of the racking into.

Eucalyptus oil works well to get these off. Scrape off what you can, soak
the remaining adhesive with a small quantity of eucalyptus oil for 10
minutes or so, and the adhesive should come off. Wash in hot water &
detergent.

Clears the sinuses too.

Geoff,
North Loburn
New Zealand

Any label that does not come off easily after a 30 minute hot water soak is
not worth the effort or expense of buying some sort of toxic glue remover.
I'm on a septic system, so I avoid those kinds of products. If I really need
bottles, then I'd rater spend $1 on a new bottle that $10 on chemicals.
Al

"Akator" > wrote in message
...
> Hi there,
>
> I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove
old
> labels from wine bottles?
>
> Thanks.
>
>

Akator, Some labels are a lot more difficult than others depending
adhesive (thanks Weez for the tip for recognizing water-soluble
labels).

Bottles I've labeled myself I clean regularly and easily as they are
all water-soluble.

Commercial bottles: I collect for awhile and then fill the bathtub
with HOT water and 1/2 bottle of "Goo Gone" adhesive remover.
Submerge 3-4 dozen bottles over night. By morning labels are
managable to remove. Some with little effort. Others require scaping
with hard plastic scraper (still fairly easy process at this point),
followed by rubbing away final stickies with regular kitchen scouring
pad. The odd bottle will still defy a thorough cleaning. If I really
like the bottle, I'll live with it, and later label over the adhesive
part. Commercial adhesive remnants will later come off with second
washing. Note: use a drain strainer. You want your plumbing to
swallow the swamp, but not the paper.

There may be better adhesive removers. I use:
http://www.magicamerican.com/gg_images/GG3_big.gif

Jim

TSP (aka wall cleaner) in powder form in cold water in a tub works
really well. about 1/2 cup of powdered TSP/ 4-5 gallons. After ~2
days, labels fall off.

But if you use the bathtub you have to take a bath in the kitchen sink )

"Joe Giller" > wrote in message
...
> TSP (aka wall cleaner) in powder form in cold water in a tub works
> really well. about 1/2 cup of powdered TSP/ 4-5 gallons. After ~2
> days, labels fall off.
>

I put all bottles in a large tub filled with a mild bleach solution.
If you use a bleach solution in your normal cleaning/sanitizing
process, you can dump the solution into the tub rather than down the
drain. I use a razor blade scraper (see
http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pict...d/zbos1066.jpg) and
stainless steel wool (see http://www.multi-pro.ca/images/pan926.jpg)
to remove ANY label. With a good scraper, even the glued plastic
labels come off with a minute or two of elbow grease time.

David
Denver, CO USA

"Akator" > wrote in message >.. .
> Hi there,
>
> I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove old
> labels from wine bottles?
>
> Thanks.

My 2 cents.

REALLY HARD STICKY COMMERCIAL LABELS (I feel these gorgeous bottles are
worth re-cycling)

1) With really hot water- fill the bottle.
2) Let bottle sit for 10 minutes with really hot water inside.
3) Bottle is very hot- peel off label (adhesive remains).
4) Let bottle sit in hot soapy water (very soapy) for 30 minutes.
5) TRICK: Using the side of a wood chisel (mine is 1/2" wide)scrape off
the major adhesive. Side of my chisel is a very square, sharp right angle
and makes a better scraper than anything I have used.
6) After 5 day soak in the soapy water, use the side od the chisel
again. Adhesive scrapes off easily.

Takes about 1.5 hour total for 20 bottles, start to finish.
Works for me.
--
KB
St. Charles, MO

I get my Hubby to do it.....

"Akator" > wrote in message
...
> Hi there,
>
> I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove
old
> labels from wine bottles?
>
> Thanks.
>
>

i just ran across this in "grape stompers" today. haven't tried (or even
heard of) it, just passing it along:

*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Need a way to remove stubborn labels from
a recycled bottle of wine?

Here's a tip from a former auto refinisher:
Use an automotive product called "Auto Prep",
or "Krill Clean". When applied with a small
moistened cloth, it immediately breaks down
the sticky (or dried) glue thus rolling off
the glass in most cases, eliminating the need
for a razor blade. It is so user friendly that
it does not even harm the recent paint sprayed
on a vehicle the night before. It is effortless
to use although it is a petroleum-based product,
so washing of hands would be a good idea!

It's available at places like NAPA or other
auto paint stores.

Our thanks to Joe Alatalo from Maui, Hawaii
for providing this tip!
hth good luck, jim book
"Juwanna" > wrote in message
...
> I get my Hubby to do it.....
>
> "Akator" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi there,
> >
> > I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove
> old
> > labels from wine bottles?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
>
>

I soak my bottles for 24 hrs or more in the laundry tub, upright and
full of water of course. I tried once... and only once to speed the
process by heating the water on the stove.... later when capping.
pooof lots of them broke. Seems with some bottles this changes the
tensile strength of the glass. When I get a particulartly tough glue
I use a quick shot of WD40 . then the paring knife, I use a scotch
brillo pad to clean this off to a nice polish.

cheers
Marv




On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 22:21:23 +0100, "Akator"
> wrote:

>Hi there,
>
>I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove old
>labels from wine bottles?
>
>Thanks.
>

I use a 5-in-1 painters tool to cut the labels off with. It is like a putty
knife with a sharpened blade on the end of it. It allows me to have more
control than a razor blade or a paring knife. Once I get the label off, I
use orange mechanics hand cleaner to get the gum off the bottle. It has
pumice in it and a dab on a scrubbing pad usually get all the gummy glue off
the bottle. Just make sure you clean with soapy water afterwards to remove
any residue from the cleaner, and rinse well with clean water.

Stephen
Stratford, PEI

"Juwanna" > wrote in message
...
> I get my Hubby to do it.....
>
> "Akator" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi there,
> >
> > I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove
> old
> > labels from wine bottles?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
>
>

I have gotten really good results by soaking the bottles in 2-3 gal of
very hot water and 1 cup of ammonia and some dishwashing liquid as
well. Rubber gloves are a must when working with the ammonia. A good
razor scapper works well after the bottles soak for about 2 hours.

Steve in Lynchburg,VA
On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 22:21:23 +0100, "Akator"
> wrote:

>Hi there,
>
>I'm just wondering if anyones got some sound advice about how to remove old
>labels from wine bottles?
>
>Thanks.
>