Cleaning glue from bottles

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bumpnzx3

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St. Louis, MO
I drink store bought beer about as much as I drink my own beer- 50/50 mix. Most all of the stuff I buy is microbrew stuff- so I always clean and reuse the bottles, rather than buying empty bottles from the HBS (hell- for a little bit more I can buy the bottles full of beer, rather than empty). Usually I rinse the bottles several times when I am done drinking them. The following day (and sometimes just after I rinse them if I am drinking at home) I will soak them in the kitchen sink to get the lables/glue to soften up. Some lables peel off really well and the glue is easy to clean. Other bottles loose their lables really easily, yet leave the multi-glue lines behind and they are really hard to get off. Anyone have any tips to get the glue off? I have half tempted to just not buy the beer that I have a hard time getting their lables off- then again, I really like some of those brews:drunk:
 
I soak the bottles in hotwater/Oxyclean. If the labels come off and leave the glue behind....I have a sponge handy (one with the scour pad on one side). The sponge makes quick work of the glue. Oxyclean is an awesome thing.
 
Samuel Smith's labels come off the cleanest in my experience. Sam Adams put up a small fight. I use really hot water and let them soak for about 30 minutes. The labels come off and I take one of those green scrubbers to get the glue off. A little labor, but not too bad.
 
I tried the scrubbing method. Schlafly (local St. Louis place) comes off the best- just a little hand rubbing in hot water. I'm no stranger to a scrubbing pad, but I've got a 6 pack now that the glue refuses to leave. I am thinking of just tossing them in the recycle bin. I'm sure some sort of cleaner (brake clean or carb cleaner) that I've got out in my shop would take it off, but I am scared that I would never get all of the chemicals out. I will try to add some oxyclean to the soaking water and see if that softens it up a tad.
 
Oxiclean takes off 99% of them. I don't use hot water. I have a HD homer bucket sitting outside (always) that I toss bottles into. I keep a stainless steel brillo pad in that bucket. After a day (or two or three) I pull the bottles out, peel the label off, then brillo the bottle clean.

The brillo pad doesn't really do much work. The glue is liquified, it just needs the slightest help. No problem.
 
i know guiness isnt a craft brew but if you can ahold of some bottle you can cut the labels off and use pliers to pull the widget out. my brother drinks guinness by the case and saves the bottles for me. i can get the labels and widgets out of a case in about 10 minutes. right now im sitting on 15 cases, 6 of which have beer and the rest are waiting to be filled.
 
Peanut Butter.... Rub it in with your finger and hot water to rinse off. Works like a charm on most of the glues I've encountered thus far.
 
schlafly bottles in hot oxyclean is the best ive found. some scrubbing but very little effort. i go to the recycling center on kingshighway at 44. i think its called sunnyside recycling center but i really dont know for sure. i go there and get all the bottles i could ever want. they are free of course. try it out, you wont be disappointed.
 
This will sound crazy but this stuff seems to be a solvent for A LOT of glues and its easy to clean off. Its pure citrus oil air freshener. I used it as a merchandiser to remove labels from beams at big box stores. I have tried it on several bottles that left the glue lines and it works. Its terrible though if you don't like the smell of oranges.

1255076220-97277_full.jpg
 
This will sound crazy but this stuff seems to be a solvent for A LOT of glues and its easy to clean off. Its pure citrus oil air freshener. I used it as a merchandiser to remove labels from beams at big box stores. I have tried it on several bottles that left the glue lines and it works. Its terrible though if you don't like the smell of oranges.

1255076220-97277_full.jpg

I'd be afraid that the oil would eventually get into my beer. Head killer
 
I just got married. We had over 400 candles on all the tables in various jars we saved over the summer. Guess who got to remove all those labels.

Filled the bath tub with hot water, used laundry detergent and simple green mix.

Tough labels and glue that didn't just soak off after an hour came right off with the Steel BBQ grill brush. Then to clean the brush I just fired up the grill and cleaned the grill.
 
I know most people here don't like Corona, but the way they dont have glued labels seems like a step above buying empty bottles from the LHBS. Are there any craft brews that use the same label method as Corona? I've wanted to get my hands on some old coke or Dr Pepper bottles for this.
 
I know most people here don't like Corona, but the way they dont have glued labels seems like a step above buying empty bottles from the LHBS. Are there any craft brews that use the same label method as Corona? I've wanted to get my hands on some old coke or Dr Pepper bottles for this.

Rogue beer uses the same labeling method as Corona. Painted on the bottle or whatever.

And they don't suck.
 
I know most people here don't like Corona, but the way they dont have glued labels seems like a step above buying empty bottles from the LHBS. Are there any craft brews that use the same label method as Corona? I've wanted to get my hands on some old coke or Dr Pepper bottles for this.

Noticed these guys have some printed bottles for sale. Not Coke or DR P but painted on.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/12-oz-cobalt-blue-bottles-nittany-ale-case-of-24.html

I don't work for them so this isn't a plug
 
I've got a few Red Stripe bottles. 12oz, little short/stubby things. I will try the brillow pad idea. The scrubber I was using was just some sponge we had in the sink. Something with a little more balls behind it would probably work better. Thanks for all the tips guys!
 
i find an over night soak in Dawn and warm water helps allot. like you said some labels practically fall off the next morning and you just wipe the glue off. other brands seem to use a different kind of glue. for those a green scrubby seems to do the trick on the glue. then there are the kind that use some kind of super glue like Fox Barrel cider. the labels come off easy enough after a soak but the glue is another matter. i had to resort to using an SOS pad to get the glue off. pain in the butt.
 
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