Lables on Bottles

[smcintyre]

I see where people have labels on the bottles they slump. Can someone please tell me how this is accomplished? One person mentioned decals? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Suzette

[Brad Walker]

I see where people have labels on the bottles they slump. Can someone please tell me how this is accomplished? One person mentioned decals? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Suzette

The labels are applied after the bottle has been slumped. They're sometimes soaked off before slumping and saved; sometimes a special label is created. Usually they're just glued on.

[smcintyre]

Thank you so much. Someone mentioned something about ceramic decals. Do you know about these and where I can get the paper?

Thanks, Suzette

[charlie]

anyone got a good tip for removing the labels in the first place? i've tried soaking, razor blades, chemicals, etc and nothing works well. what happens when you don't take it off? does it burn up completely without leaving traces?

[Judy Schnabel]

Charlie,

Never tried "burning" one off.

Most labels will come off after they've been soaked in water overnight. Some come off a lot easier than others.

Jack Daniels & Jose Guervo are tough. You have to keep "slicing" under the label with a scraper. Bacardi can be "peeled" off but you have to immediately put it on plain white paper to keep it safe. Stoli practically floats.

It's not a good idea to put the bottles (with labels on them) in hot water. That can discolor the label.

Hope this helps.

Judy

[Judy Schnabel]

Charlie,

Never tried "burning" one off.

Most labels will come off after they've been soaked in water overnight. Some come off a lot easier than others.

Jack Daniels & Jose Guervo are tough. You have to keep "slicing" under the label with a scraper. Bacardi can be "peeled" off but you have to immediately put it on plain white paper to keep it safe. Stoli practically floats off.

It's not a good idea to put the bottles (with labels on them) in hot water. That can discolor the label.

Also, keep the bucket you're soaking them in out of the sun. The sun can discolor the label also.

Hope this helps.

Judy

[charlie]

Charlie,

Never tried "burning" one off.

Most labels will come off after they've been soaked in water overnight. Some come off a lot easier than others.

Jack Daniels & Jose Guervo are tough. You have to keep "slicing" under the label with a scraper. Bacardi can be "peeled" off but you have to immediately put it on plain white paper to keep it safe. Stoli practically floats off.

It's not a good idea to put the bottles (with labels on them) in hot water. That can discolor the label.

Also, keep the bucket you're soaking them in out of the sun. The sun can discolor the label also.

Hope this helps.

Judy

thanks.

i'm not trying to save the labels. i've soaked wine bottles for a week with almost no affect. the adhesive seems to be not water based, so isn't really affected. the paper sort of dissolves over time, but it leaves the backing that i have to razor off or dissolve, which is a large bother. i was hoping for a magic incantation besides elbow grease.

[Brad Walker]

i was hoping for a magic incantation besides elbow grease.

Well, it's not magic, but try heating the labels with a hairdryer. Most of the glues are sensitive to heat and will come loose.

[Rebecca M.]

I did one that was a beezer to get the label and glue off. I used a razor blade for most of it and Goo-Gone with a scrubbie got the rest of the glue. It wasn't a paper label, but some sort of plastic.

[Judy Schnabel]

To get the final residue off, use oven cleaner. Spray on and leave for a few hours. Then go over that with Comet Cleanser. Try to purchase the oven cleaner that doesn't smell.

Judy

[Judd]

Judy Schnabel,

This process works with Skyy Blue Vodka? Their little bottle, the six pack of Skyy Blue, are a BUGGER to remove labels from. I've tried lighter fluid, and it does not even begin to remove all the goo.

Charlie,

I've fired a few small (very small) pieces with a little goo on them still. I didn't notice a big difference between the totally cleaned and slightly gooey pieces. But, maybe I just got lucky.

Judd

[Mark Kemp]

Orange oil, such as Citrisolv, works well on a lot of label adhesive. Softens it, then it can be removed with a strong detergent solution.

[Judy Schnabel]

Skyy vodka bottles are a challenge. After I pull the silver top portion off I spray oven cleaner on what's left of the label. I usually leave them sit overnight. Then I start with the scraper and Comet Cleanser. That usually works for me.

I've also been introduced to a product called "un-du" which can be purchased at Wal-Mart in the area for scrappers (people who do scrap books). I've used it on Yellow Tail (I believe) and got the label off in one piece.

Judy

[Carol]

anyone got a good tip for removing the labels in the first place? i've tried soaking, razor blades, chemicals, etc and nothing works well. what happens when you don't take it off? does it burn up completely without leaving traces?

Experience will show you which labels soak off easily. I've generally found that most imported wines have water soluble glue. Fill up the sink at night, they've soaked off by am. I don't save the labels either and have narrowed my slumping to a couple of brands which require little or no elbow grease.

C.

[BobbieMatus]

Soaking and razor blades is what I use. Don't try to burn off in kiln, any glue that wasn't cleaned off will leave traces on finished bottle
Bobbie

[J. Savina]

anyone got a good tip for removing the labels in the first place? i've tried soaking, razor blades, chemicals, etc and nothing works well. what happens when you don't take it off? does it burn up completely without leaving traces?

What kind of chemicals are you using. I just use Goo Gone or Goof Off. Soak for a bit and the label comes right off. I get it at Home Depot.

[quill]

I see where people have labels on the bottles they slump. Can someone please tell me how this is accomplished? One person mentioned decals? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Suzette

HI Suzette,
I have had no luck with saving labels, (I have not slumped bottles but used to remove them when I was doing glass repairs.

What does work for me is searching ebay for labels. You can buy vintage & current bottle labels there from various sellers.
Good luck & hope this helps.

[Gale aka artistefem]

I do a razor blade or fingernail test on the edge of the label to check what kind of adhsive has been used to affix the label.

All the water soaking in the world won't take off the gum adhesives. To get this type of label off, I set my heat gun on low and carefully - moving quickly - warm the label, peeling as I heat. This works well. But if you use a heat gun - be careful not to apply so much heat that you thermal shock the bottle into shards.

A thorough clean-up is necessary of the label glue residue and the bottle neck where the neck label or metal capping has been applied. I use a solvent (with mild scratchy action) followed by a dishsoap bath and clear water rinse. Most likely if you try to burn a label off in the kiln, you will end up with devit.

Some of the bottles my friends give me are heavily streaked on the outside with wine trails and need extra cleaning, especially around the neck area. These must be the last "flight" of bottles opened during their wine toasting parties - LOL!