Silk screened or painted label removal

This was part of a discussion on another thread but I thought it worthy of posting here too. In attempting to remove labels from Red Stripe bottles for home bottling I have discovered that CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) cleaner removes the painted label in 20-30 minutes with little to no scrubbing at all. I filled the bottle with water and set it in a glass with about 1.5 inches of CLR in it (you have to be careful it does not over flow). Below is an image of how I did it. I have not tested on other painted or screened labels, however, I suspect it will work as well. So, for all of you who love the stubby bottle look for your homebrew, cheers.

Have you used this same technique on Coronoa bottles? I am just curious if it is something in the Red Stripe labels, or if it applies to all labels?

Testing on a Corona bottle right now. I will let you know in about 30 minutes.

Works exactly the same on Corona bottles as well. It is probably safe to assume it will work on everyhting. But, you know what happens when you assume.

the tall boys from red stripe are the coolest followed by carta blanca 32s.

Wow, never thought of CLR...Have you tried it with Rogue's silkscreen?

I may have to try this technique on the Nittany Ale bottles that I got from Midwest Supplies.

I have only tested on Red Stripe and Corona. I am pretty sure it will work with any type of silk screen.

Dang. When I think of all the Rogue bottles I've thrown away....

Thanks for posting this.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought i saw somewhere u can use starsan to remove silk screening also?? Don't know if this is undiluted or not.

Tilldeath said:

Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought i saw somewhere u can use starsan to remove silk screening also?? Don't know if this is undiluted or not.

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Starsan is the usual goto for most silkscreen. But certain paints are resistant to that, including some redstripe bottles (I've had a 50% failure rate on them) and does not work with Rogue bottles or mexican coke. But DOES remove the paint from Stone bottles. So that is why it is exciting to see just what Clr works on and what it doesn't.

Banjoman76 said:

I may have to try this technique on the Nittany Ale bottles that I got from Midwest Supplies.

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Let me know how that works

Think I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but if the cleaners don't work, a buffing wheel and jeweler's rouge will take off silkscreening/paint without damaging the bottle.

cheesecake said:

Let me know how that works

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Hints: Plenty of ventilation, get larger quantity than 28 ounces of CLR, have large protective gloves, scrubbies and patience. It takes longer than an hour with the cobalt Nittany Ale bottles.

It has worked on two of the three 12 packs I have of coronoa. It just isnt even trying to take it off, like it is sealed or something.

Revvy - by Stone bottles are you referring to ceramic bottles or is that a type of beer?

Has anyone tried removing paint from ceramic bottles?

I tried the CLR on my Red Stripe bottles because I wanted these for my supply, but the CLR only assisted in removing the white paint and this was with a thorough scrubbing with a brush and steel wool after an overnight soaking in about a 75% CLR solution. The red paint just looked cleaner with all the scrubbing.

Brahama said:

Revvy - by Stone bottles are you referring to ceramic bottles or is that a type of beer?

Has anyone tried removing paint from ceramic bottles?

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He is talking about a brewery. The nice thing about their bottles is that they are the same as the ones you get from LHBS's so if you can get the label off (which is easy with starsan) you can keep your bottle collection pretty much uniform.

On the Red Stripe bottles, can you see where the silkscreening was like you can after the starsan method?

Revvy said:

Starsan is the usual goto for most silkscreen...Does not work with Rogue bottles...

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I've just removed the labels from three Rogue bottles with starsan, maybe they've changed their print companies or the printer changed their ink/curing method. The bottles were purchased around 6 - 8 months ago.

Interesting to read the CLR works though. I have a Fuller's London Pride glass and a Rodenbach Grand Cru bottle that won't budge with StarSan so will give the CLR a shot.

After reading some of these posts I though it important to clarify. When I did this, I used 100% CLR. It was not dilluted at all. I put the bottle in a cup and let it soak in 100% CLR for 20 minutes. A quick wipe with a rag or rinse under water and there was no label. On a few bottles, about 15% or so, you could see a sillouhette of the screen if you really looked but a little steel wool took that off with no effort. I did 4 sixers of Red Stripe and 3 sixers of Corona bottles without ever replacing the CLR. I just had to make sure the level was high enough to cover the entire label. I think dilluting it is why there are problems with the label coming off.

I don't know anything about the StarSan method but from what I can read, there is marginal success and it is pretty expensive. The only bad thing about the CLR is the smell of the stuff. I agree that it should be done in a well ventilated area with gloves and a good rinse under the tap will clean it all up. I will post with more results on other bottles.

I thought I would revive this thread with a couple of pictures using CLR and these awesome Nittany bottles I picked up from Midwest. I bought two cases of bottles in preparation of bottling my pale ale; they were $6.95 a case. I originally was not going to remove the silk-screened labels; thinking it would be too much of a hassle. Reading that CLR will do this with minimal effort, I decided to do the job in bulk. All 48 bottles fit nicely in one of those under bed plastic storage containers. A hose to the faucet filled each bottle up so they would not float; then simply pour one 28 oz bottle of CLR into the container and top with water to just above the label line.



I then covered the thing in aluminum foil to keep the cat out of it, and let them soak overnight. This morning, I pulled one out and literally used a paper towel to wipe off the painted label:


No scrubbing, no rubbing; going to simply set up the sink with some warm sudsy water and wipe them clean and then into the dishwasher to sanitize. I do not think I will make labels for them; as the cobalt blue just looks so cool on its own.

I am going to reuse the solution on some stone bottles next.

That's great news!

I also picked up a couple cases of the Nittany Ale bottles.

Just finished with these; in the dishwasher. There were a couple of spots on 3 or 4 bottles where the bottles were touching and the CLR solution did not get to the paint; so be sure and as they say in England, "Mind the Gap."

Seems to work exceptionally well on Stone bottles:

Thanks for the tip on the CLR. I have a bunch of Steam Whistle and Red Stripe bottles I want to bottle in with my first batch, but didn't want to leave the printing on. Really wanted the Red Stripe for the stubby bottle. Just fits in the fridge better. Running out for get some CLR right now, actually. Wish me luck!