Removing Logos from fine beer glasswear

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Hex

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Oct 21, 2009
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Location
Granite Bay, CA
Hello,

I'm new to homebrewing. I'm 43. This year I have made 5 gal of hard apple cider, bottled last week. 8 gal fig wine, still in carboys. And three weeks ago I brewed my first extract based with specialty steep London Brown with US Goldings.

My sister is a bartender in SF, and brings home lots of beer glassware with logos on them. Now, I'm at a point in my drinking career to actually get distracted by logos like Stella Artois while I'm tasting my creations.

Has anybody ever successfully removed these logos, and by what method. I tried to scrape with razor blade to no avail. I'm wondering if battery acid (Sulfuric acid) or Hydrochloric Acid will do the trick?

I like the Stella and Chimay goblet, but I can't stand the logos.

Please advise.

Hex
 
First off welcome to the wonderful world of brewing.
I have never removed them but I have removed similar logos on beer bottles that are screen printed on them. Try just soaking them in starsan over night, possibly 48 hours and they will probably just wipe off. Most of those labels are screen printed on (except for the few that are etched into the glass, no removing that). Give it a go, if you are not familiar with starsan, go to your LHBS and they will get you all setup.

I would stay away from HCL or H2SO4 (Im a chemical engineer and work with them a fair amount of the time :) ) they may remove the labels but have a much worse side effect like... death if ingested. Plus they can burn and cause other issues.
 
Thanks so far,

I've got a full machine shop, and am fairly competent with chemistry. I would try the high powered stuff that I mentioned, minimally, and with extreme caution and plenty of clean up afterwords, if you thought it would work.

These glasses are not stolen, but rewards to her from the factory reps. She is a career bartender 22 years and gets perks.

The Stella logos have gold metal in them and around the rim. I would like to remove the gold in the logos as well.

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Hex

Hex
 
Update:

No manner of solvent will even touch this stuff. I've tried 'Jasco' paint stripper, acetone, and MEK. Not even residue color on a q-tip. It must be some sort of baked on enamel.

Do you think I should give satrsan a try?

Now, I'm thinking Boric acid...

Hex
 
my suggestion would be to buy the glassware you want and just sale the stolen stuff on ebay


Don't think it's right to assume it's stolen. OP states his sister works as a bartender, which would mean she's in a perfect position to get these kinds of items from distributors and/or producer sales reps. We have schwag we give out all the time to accounts.
 
Yeah my SWMBO works at the Newfoundland Liquor Corporation and we get all kinds of glassware. I was wondering the exact same thing as the OP today! I have some Heineken glasses that I would love to remove the logos from.
 
+1 to Brewin_Crazy's idea of using StarSan...I know a good soak will remove the screen-printing from Stone Bottles, no reason it shouldn't work for the screen-printing on pint glasses. Plus, its not as nasty as some of the other options you've tried or are considering...

Hell, start running them through the diswasher and a couple of years they'll begin to come off!
 
:mug: I'm new here but not new to forum-ing. How do I know it's a friendly site when the score is 2 good and 2 bad? I just want an answer, and Starsan will be tried next. I'll post results.

Hex
 
You will get a lot of people posting random comments on this site. Just ignore them if they bother you, otherwise, welcome to the site, a lot of people have had success with starsan, I can't get it here, but hopefully will get my hands on some in the near future to try.

I must have 50 glasses with logos that I would love to see gone....maybe etch my own logo into them.

I also don't think Clayton meant to say you were a thief, it was just a reference to the glasses in a joking way.
 
yes i was not serious , just jokeing at the whole notion, kinda like bleaching some ones flag , and then repainting it.

a search online showed the Hydrochloric Acid and razor blades are the way
but I still say there are lots of people who would love to have thoes glasses
why deface, them just sale them on ebay and save your self the work and buy what you are looking for. there are lots of websites that carry every manor of beer glass brand new and brand free.
 
I know a soak in a Starsan solution will remove the screen printing from Rogue bottles. I've had a little harder time with the Stone logos. Not too sure what ink they use on the glasses. Its probably a little tougher than the bottles so they can withstand dishwashers. Just some thoughts
 
Toluene. Toluene will remove anything from any surface. Its not an acid its a solvent. Use proper PPE though. Its believed to be a cacinogen and you might grow a third ball. But a third ball isnt nearly as distracting as those pesky logos.
 
Toluene. Toluene will remove anything from any surface. Its not an acid its a solvent. Use proper PPE though. Its believed to be a cacinogen and you might grow a third ball. But a third ball isnt nearly as distracting as those pesky logos.

ha, yea that will definitely work! Careful though, toluene can blow up. They use it as a solvent in some ink. The last printing company I worked at had an explosion proof room for the ink.
 
Yeah... There really aren't any dicks around here. They get driven off pretty quick. My discontent stands, and maybe lighten up. :)
 
Ok, I've determined that it cannot be done, at least for the Stella .4L goblet. I resorted to Sulfuric Acid and a razor blade. The acid had zero effect on the gold deposition, nor on the baked enamel logo. The razor blade was able to scritchy-scratch a small test area of gold off. What I found underneath was etching. So, having very limited cupboard space, and great need of a clear fine tasting goblet, I am going to return these glasses to my sister, and look for a suitable alternative.

Can anyone direct me to an a few online collections of non-logo, European beer glasses? I'd like the .4+L size globe.

Thanks again,
Hex
 
Do you have a restaurant supply store anywhere nearby? I think East Bay Restaurant Supply carries them at their Oakland location, and I think they have a Sacramento location.
 
Ok, I've determined that it cannot be done, at least for the Stella .4L goblet. I resorted to Sulfuric Acid and a razor blade. The acid had zero effect on the gold deposition, nor on the baked enamel logo. The razor blade was able to scritchy-scratch a small test area of gold off. What I found underneath was etching. So, having very limited cupboard space, and great need of a clear fine tasting goblet, I am going to return these glasses to my sister, and look for a suitable alternative.

Can anyone direct me to an a few online collections of non-logo, European beer glasses? I'd like the .4+L size globe.

Thanks again,
Hex

So did you try the Star-san?
 
I found that if you wash your beer glasses in a dishwasher, instead of by hand like you're supposed to, in about 2 years your logo will be long gone.

Plus it kills your beer's head retention. I hand wash all of my beerware now.
 
No I didn't try the Star-san. My local homebrew store didn't have a small quantity, and I didn't have twenty bucks to spend on the experiment, but I tried... Oh, they told me that it wouldn't work, aqueous solution of phosphoric acid for organics. The Stella appears to be etched below the logo, so no go.

I checked out all the links above, johntangus, but they do not offer fine european clear glassware. And my googling has not been productive. I'm thinking Macy's for crystal.

Advise,
Hex
 
I'm tired of drinking out of stackable pint glasses. I want something elegant like the Stella or Maredsous stemwear. I want to appreciate color, aroma, taste, etc without touching the glass, hence stem or handle. I want thin glass too, delicate. Gold rim would be a bonus.
 
I'm tired of drinking out of stackable pint glasses. I want something elegant like the Stella or Maredsous stemwear. I want to appreciate color, aroma, taste, etc without touching the glass, hence stem or handle. I want thin glass too, delicate. Gold rim would be a bonus.

This is one of my favorite glasses, and almost exactly what you're looking for. It's from Ommegang obviously, and meant for strong belgian beers but I can enjoy just about anything out of one of these. The glass is very thin, which I like.

Ommegang_glass.jpg
 
I found that if you wash your beer glasses in a dishwasher, instead of by hand like you're supposed to, in about 2 years your logo will be long gone.

Plus it kills your beer's head retention. I hand wash all of my beerware now.

I wash all of mine by hand too...I don't want those logos to wash off (unlike Hex, I want to keep them on there!)

I'm guessing the logos wear off with repeated washes in the dishwasher because the detergent contains phosphates similar to what is found in Star-san.

C'mon, nobody has accidently soaked a logo pint glass in Star-san? :confused:
 
No I didn't try the Star-san. My local homebrew store didn't have a small quantity, and I didn't have twenty bucks to spend on the experiment, but I tried... Oh, they told me that it wouldn't work, aqueous solution of phosphoric acid for organics. The Stella appears to be etched below the logo, so no go.

I checked out all the links above, johntangus, but they do not offer fine european clear glassware. And my googling has not been productive. I'm thinking Macy's for crystal.

Advise,
Hex

Oh, so if a guy at a LHBS said it, it must be true!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/bad-advice-i-got-lbhs-thread-141546/

Sorry, feeling punchy today. Don't know a fellow brewer who uses Star-san? Based on how well it works on Stone Brewing bottles, I gotta think its the way to go with the logo glassware...ok, I'm going to shut up now.
 
I agree, but not this week, got a hole in me pocket...

Toluene, no way. Any way, these glassware are ETCHED below the logo, so removal is not a solution. Lead me to my tasting glass, I only need one. My guests can enjoy the logos.
 
Nice shape, to large of quantity, and probably not 'fine' enough. I'm going to Macy's soon to get one nice crystal goblet...but please post more suggestions, you're getting warmer!
 
Try Value Village! I have a collection various glasses I have picked up there for around 2 bucks each. A few are the goblet style. It sounds ghetto but stop by one, you will be surprised what they have.

I picked up a sweet German beer stein there also, for 7 bucks.
 
I'd love to try the new Sam Adams glasses but I am holding off because of the Logo. I'd like to know what people find that works.
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