Bottle Stain

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

Is there any way to get this terrible white cloudy staining off? Would tumbling work? By some miracle a piece of the metal closure is still on the neck after surviving YEARS in saltwater mud. Would tumbling hurt this? I don't think I can get the metal piece off. Any input would be appreciated.

 

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[surf]

Hey bhcc,

Tumbling is the only way to remove it. You could try the mineral oil disguise...

The metal necklace is the remnant of a Putnam Cork Retainer.

"Putnam Closure, circ: 1859-1905,
Invented by: Henry William Putnam,
American Patent: March 15, 1859, Number: 23,263,
American Patent Reissued: January 19, 1864, Reissue Number: 1,606,
This cork fastener was the standard used on corked soda and mineral water bottles during the1860s, 1870s and early 1880s when it was replaced with the Hutchinson stopper. The bail was reusable and the bottler was not required to rewire the cork with every refilling of the bottle." North American Soda & Beer Bottles - Soda & Mineral Water Closures

I don't believe it would tumble well, and would need to be removed.

 

[GaRebel1861]

That's a good looking blob top you've got there. What does the writing say?

 

[GaRebel1861]

Hey bhcc,

Tumbling is the only way to remove it. You could try the mineral oil disguise...

I agree and I have both in my collection - Some rolled and some oiled. But you have to add mineral oil from time to time to keep it looking pretty.

 

[old digger]

You might try some Limeaway.

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

It would be hard to take of the piece of the closure, but I could try. The bottle is embossed "GOFF & ELWOOD STAMFORD, CT"

 

[Joshr29]

If you are not gonna sale it i would go the safe way and mineral oil it. I have a few that I did 5 or 6 months ago and they still look good. I know I would be heart broken if I broke that.

 

[Joshr29]

As far as cleaning I've also heard of using toilet bowl cleaner but I'm no expert on it. Also I forgot to mention that its a great find. HH

 

[MrSchulz]

Toilet Bowl cleaner works for me, some times. I still have bottles with haze that just can't get out, theres chemicals that do it, I just dont know by name.

 

[diggummup]

You've gotten some decent answers here. If you have a bench grinder, then a buffing wheel with some polishing compound will help on the outside. Then just fill it with water and put a cork in it and display. I'm thinking the metal closure may start to rot away now that is exposed to the air after being submerged in saltwater mud for so many years.

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

I think the closure is okay because it has been exposed for a few months with no damage. Would muriatic acid work on the stain? It's on the inside and I would have to be careful and protect the metal piece.

 

[TrickyVik]

Well I'll look in the hutch book then paste a thousand pics about it then I will provide to tell you it is valueless and common but I would pay three bucks for it wet and shiny.
Thanks very little.

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

Vik, you are just jealous and bitter. I'm choosing my words carefully because I don't want to be kicked off tnet, but I will say you have to respect the truth in what these kind people say to you. They have taken the time to research your bottle. If they joke with you a little, don't take it personally. I hope you understand how it works now.

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

The fact that your bottle is common is NOT a joke.

 

[TrickyVik]

If u dont already know: maybe if u use pebbles and and soap and shake it vigorously it will come of. But that method might not work on staining.

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

Thanks so very much for trying to help sweet old Vik, but I think it's gonna take a little bit more than pebbles to clean this. Nice try, though.

 

[flinthunter]

I was talking with a privy digger a few years back and asked him how he cleans his bottles. He said he soaks them in an oxalic acid solution. I don't know what strength he made the solution. Used to be able to buy oxalic acid crystals at the local drug store but I don't know if any carry it now. I have used it to clean heavy mineral stains off of druzy quartz. It works great for that.

 

[Joshr29]

The only other thing I've heard to do non professionally is soak it in that gel paint stripper stuff that you can get at Lowes. I haven't tried this one yet. As for the acid part I think that's why they say use toilet bowl cleaner. I believe it does have acid in it just not a heavy concentration. Hope you can find many more of em.

 

[gleaner1]

Is there any way to get this terrible white cloudy staining off? Would tumbling work? By some miracle a piece of the metal closure is still on the neck after surviving YEARS in saltwater mud. Would tumbling hurt this? I don't think I can get the metal piece off. Any input would be appreciated.

Okay boys and girls, read carefully. Bottles like this are not stained, and they do not have any foreign matter on the surface. They are not dirty. Dump bottles or any bottles that have been in wet grounds for many years become etched like this, the collector term is "sick". This is because the glass surface gets "dissolved" by acids or chemical reactions in the wet ground, leaving a dull frosty patina. Oh well, that's what the dump digger expects. Now, tumbling a bot will make it wet shiny attic mint, it will polish off the etching, or sickness, and make it look shiny new again. But tumbling a bot is going to cost you a good hunk of bread, maybe thirty bucks or more, and it might take some of the detail off, and it might break, so it is risky, and very few specialists do it. Tumbling takes special equipment, and it may take two solid weeks of turning in the machine to get it looking decent. This blob is horribly sick, some of the worst, and can't be improved with any type of cleaning, or chemical treatment, because it is not dirty. The rusty bail wires add no value to bottles generally speaking, so don't worry about keeping that. This blob is worth about ten bucks, maybe a bit more, if in attic mint shiny condition. So just remember, if it is common, and sick, fuggetaboudit. It aint worth polishing. If it is a rare flask or bitters, or anything that is economically viable, a good tumbling will increase the value by an order of magnitude. But you dont want to polish a ten or twenty or fifty dollar bottle, because when you are done, you still have a ten or twenty or fifty dollar bottle, minus the tumbler charge. See what I'm sayin? Check out heckler auctions, they have a nice yellow historical flask found in a privy in SC that was sick as a dog and polished, it sold for 14 grand. It might have been only worth a thousand before polishing. You catch my drift? Good digging to all!

 

[gleaner1]

I have been thinking about the rusty bail rings, you could conceivably cut the thing off and reattach it after the tumbling, maybe use a dab of good epoxy at the cut joint and sprinkle rust crumbles onto the glue to disguise the dastardly deed. Then I was wondering if there were professional lightning or hutter stopper bail wire restorer dudes out there, it would not be difficult with some rusty old mild steel tie wire. It is rare to dig a dump bottle with much iron intact, plus the bot is always sick as a dog.