New "Old Labeling" Design

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landhoney

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I am a big fan of vintage port and madeira, and have also always loved the painted white lettering that is used to label the old bottles. I'm thinking of trying it with some of my bottles. Along with my dream to own my own brewery, would be to label my bottles like the below picture. I think it would be fairly easy to do with my homebrew, but getting the paint off might be difficult. Any ideas?
1-1795-bar-madeira.jpg
:off: Yes, that bottle from 1795 is for sale for $3500 and most likely will be amazing. Vintage Madeira's aging potential is better than ANY wine, I have had examples from pre-1900 that were amazing. And b/c they are already oxidized and heated they're pretty much bulletproof.
 
I think that's pretty neat. That's how some of the lambic breweries in Belgium label their bottles, just with marks and dates, no labels. What about using one of those oil pencils that scientists use on flasks?
 
Looks like they use a stencil, which im sure you could whip up with an exacto-knife and some beer-box paperboard.
Check the fonts you have on your computer, open up word and rifle through the fonts, im sure you will find a font similar to that one. print it out nice and big, then trace it over the paperboard with the knife.
Then just pop open a can of white and go to town. Try some latex based paint which i think might scrub/peel right off come time to bottle the next batch...

good luck! :rockin:
 
There's a stencil font that's downloadable from a lot of places called 'Crass' (after the punk band that uses the same font). A quick google should bring it up or check dafont.com.

It's pretty similar to what's on that bottle.
 
More than likely screen printed. The easiest way to duplicate it would definitely be how steve described
 
I'm not sure you will find much success with regular paints found in a spray can. The application on glass will result in an easily peel able situation. Some of the "toy/model" paints meant for plastic or glass will last longer. I like the grease pen idea... but with a twist use a stencil like with the paint (color in the letters) and then spay a good lacquer over the lettering. You can remove the whole lot with some acetone.
 
Tried it. Its very difficult to prevent runs underneath your stencil. Your best bet is to go to a office supply store and get yourself some of that static cling plastic sticker material. You can buy blank sheets, print on them from your computer, then exacto out.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I won't quote all of the above, but to the relevant posters I have these questions:

1. Will oil pencils look bold/bright enough like real paint?

2. What kind of paint was used that created runs under the stencil?

I am definitley going to try this(painting/coloring directly on the bottle). So I'm sure I'll try different techniques until I get it right.
I'll be sure to post pics here.
 
With the stencils try using acetate, like thin clear plastic used to print on for projectors, most stationery shops sell it.

Use some spray adhesive to help stick the stencil to the bottle while painting it, it will help stop the runs.

Instead of using spray paint try using a foam roller with a thickish acrylic paint, how well it will stick to the glass, I don't know.
 
orfy said:
I'd say forget trying to make them removable.

Make them generic and finish the details with a white chalk pen.

The generic/non-removable is not a bad idea. I could do my brewery name and the date like "200_" and write in the last number with removable oil pen. Then use a back label or write on the cap for what's inside.
 
try using spray chalk
it's not super easy to wash off sidewalk (most muni have banned it for public streets/sidewalks) but would guess it's easier then paint to remove

let us know what your results are!
 
Printing on glass is tough. Because glass is non-porous, most paints will come off super easy. If you want the labels to be permanent, you should look for ink (paint) designed to print on glass. These kind of inks will usually be solvent based, the easiest to use is probably an enamel ink that will air cure (doesn't need to be baked to cure). This kind of ink, even though meant for glass, will still be prone to scratching, but should hold up way better than inks not meant to be printed on glass. Solvent based inks can be pretty smelly, so apply in a well-ventilated area!

As denimglens and JoeRags pointed out, using static cling sticker material or thin clear plastic should work better than cardboard, as you want to use a stencil material that is flexible to fit the curve of the bottle and won't warp when the paint is applied. Just make sure you use a material that you can cut easily but at the same time won't have to worry about it ripping halfway through the process. Making a durable stencil that can be used over and over again will save you alot of time in the long run.

You should have some advantage to stenciling on a bottle because you can wrap the stencil around the bottle and tape off both ends, thus securing the stencil snug to the bottle. If ink still gets through, denimglens suggestion of a spray adhesive is the next best route.

I would first use some regular white paint to get your stenciling technique down, and then proceed to using permanent paint. If you are having trouble finding a good paint to use, I have a quart of white Nazdar 59000 Series Enamel Plus Gloss Screen Ink laying around. I can send half a pint of it or so your way so you can try it out. (I've been meaning to get around to screen printing logos onto glass bottles, but haven't gotten to it yet.)

Good Luck!

-Jon
 
It will be a couple weeks till I get to this.

iamjonsharp where do you buy that stuff off-line, do they sell it at art stores?
Looks, expensive: $28 a quart online.
Thanks for the offer, but I'll just try to buy some.
 
Yeah its a bit expensive. I've yet to try it out on any bottles yet, I can try painting a bottle right quick and then let you know how well it works. I got it at dickblick.com: http://www.dickblick.com/zz432/11/. I'm not sure if home improvement places carry any types of paints that are meant to paint on glass, it may be worth trying and asking there too. Maybe engine enamel will work? I'm not sure.
 
when stenciling names on clothing we always printed out the name, then put the paper over a piece of contact paper and cut out the letters. Just an idea.
 
coyotlgw said:
when stenciling names on clothing we always printed out the name, then put the paper over a piece of contact paper and cut out the letters. Just an idea.

This gives me a great idea... My sister used to work at a sign shop where they made vinyl lettering or stickers... Some were made with glue that would allow you to peel it off of glass rather easily. I know it only cost me $60 per door to get the lettering on my work truck. I wonder what the cost would be to get re-usable labels for bottles?
 
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