Sanding bottles

Is it bad to sand bottles? If sanded too much I could see bottle bombs happening easier (thinner glass), but is a light sand safe? Plastic labels didn't come completely off old bottles & was gonna sand them down a bit and try another starsan soak to break em all the way down.

Are you using StarSan to remove labels?


I don't think it has the power to loosen the glue. Have you tried PBW cleaner or OxyClean? I have soaked off a ton of labels using hot water and OxyClean. Don't sand the bottles. I am not sure how much it will weaken the bottles but I wouldn't trust it to hold the pressure of carbonation.

Pick up some OxyClean!

Unless someone has definitive proof otherwise, I think sanding bottles is probably fine. Even more so if you do it lightly like you said.

I think lightly sanding the labels off would be fine. However once you get some oxyclean you will always use it for clesninv because it makes life easier

For those hard-to-remove labels, I used a wire brush.

A pbw soak and they will slide right off.

Acyr90 said:

Is it bad to sand bottles? If sanded too much I could see bottle bombs happening easier (thinner glass), but is a light sand safe? Plastic labels didn't come completely off old bottles & was gonna sand them down a bit and try another starsan soak to break em all the way down.

Click to expand...

just soak the bottles it hot water and peal the plastic label off. they are the easiest to remove.

then oxyclean or whatever for the glue residue


starsan won't remove labels, but it will remove some paint. Soak and let dry, the paint starts flaking off after it dries. soak dry repeat.

Are you like sanding the entire bottle? I think that would look cool.

What wrong wid da beer we got?

Click to expand...

I have yet to find a label I cannot remove with some hot oxyclean and patience. I suppose the exception would be the painted-on labels from e.g. Stone, which are removed with a nice long soak in star san.

I use a metal brush and it works very well after a good soaking.

You could also use a straight razor. You could pick up the little tool from the hardware store that holds the razor for scraping paint off glass. Soak the bottles, and the labels should come right off.

Sanding glass will leave scratches in the glass. A scratch is a weak point in the glass. Will they blow up? I don't know.
I have found Naptha/ Lighter fluid/ Coleman fuel to be very effective in removing non water soluble label glues.

weirdboy said:

I have yet to find a label I cannot remove with some hot oxyclean and patience. I suppose the exception would be the painted-on labels from e.g. Stone, which are removed with a nice long soak in star san.

Click to expand...

This is exactly how I do it as well. EZPZ.

Gary

So, StarSan works for removing the screen-printed labels?!! Holy crap! I never thought of using that! I've been just tossing those bottles! Great little find here!

To the OP, PBW works wonders on just about any label...even the vinyl/plastic labels with non-water soluable adhesive. I'll soak overnight, peel the label off, then soak for another day and then get a stiff bristled brush and go to town on the bottle. Southern Tier bottles are pretty tough though...

I've etched a lot of bottles with glass etching cream and never had a problem.

I don't know what sanding would to to them.

amandabab said:

I've etched a lot of bottles with glass etching cream and never had a problem.

I don't know what sanding would to to them.

Click to expand...

I think what others are getting about when talking about sanding glass is that by sanding, you are creating bunches of tiny scores in the glass. When you "cut" glass, it's done by scoring the glass. So, the concern with sanding would be the scores created.

Etching glass bottles, to my knowledge, does not actually score the glass. It simply "eats away" at a very thin layer of glass giving the appearance of frosted glass. Two very different processes.

I may be wrong, if so, please by all means correct me!

tyzippers said:

So, StarSan works for removing the screen-printed labels?!! Holy crap! I never thought of using that! I've been just tossing those bottles! Great little find here!

Click to expand...

it works very well
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/another-good-use-starsan-32159/

weirdboy said:

I have yet to find a label I cannot remove with some hot oxyclean and patience. I suppose the exception would be the painted-on labels from e.g. Stone, which are removed with a nice long soak in star san.

Click to expand...

PM me your address and I will send you a couple bottles no charge. If you can remove the labels with oxyclean and patience, or a long soak in star san. I will send you a KBS http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/kbs/?av-submitted=true.. if not send me a Pliny, Deal?

iaefebs said:

PM me your address and I will send you a couple bottles no charge. If you can remove the labels with oxyclean and patience, or a long soak in star san. I will send you a KBS http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/kbs/?av-submitted=true.. if not send me a Pliny, Deal?

Click to expand...

Yes, there are definitely plasticized labels (I don't know if that's really what they are, but it seems descriptive) that will not come off no matter how long you soak in oxyclean/pbw. Two Brothers labels come to mind . . .

Any oxidizing cleaner and a little time will take care of it, save the elbow grease for where it is needed. Y'all got to learn time management techniques.

I pour the hottsst water I can an plug my sink, then disk the bottles in hot water, 20 -30 minutes, all labels peel right away, I just then use a dobie pad to remove all the residue. So.easy and effective

Another cheap easy label remover is ammonia.

Fire. Melt those suckers and they will come right off. May have a little sticky left that you need a solvent or some wd40 on a paper towel to clean off.