Cleaning Old Bottles

Toecutter

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I use copper wire and sinkers that I cut up into little pieces, then depending on condition I use dish soap, lemon juice, clr...
 

UnderMiner

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If it's an ACL Pepsi you definitely don't want to be scrubbing it with anything, but if it's just an embossed glass bottle you can use a pure copper scrubber. It must be pure copper and not steel or else it will leave scratches, copper will not scratch the glass as it's a softer metal.

If you want to clean an ACL bottle you need to keep it dry and simply brush it lightly with a soft toothbrush as the ACL coating can flake off otherwise. Never wet wash an ACL, it becomes more sensitive to abrasion when wet.
 

sprailroad

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For the inside of the bottles, I have used BB's or bird shot, (depending on size of bottle) with dish detergent and water, and shake and swirl. worked pretty good. The outside?, as was already said here, depends on the bottle, Embossed or not.
 

ddafternoons

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Feb 18, 2023
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I, have for years, used just torn up paper towels. Fill up with water and if you want a drop of Dawn soap. Shake the bottle. It should dislodge most debris. I've cleaned many, many, antique bottles this way. As a rule, it generally works. Now if it has mineral stains, it will not work for that and I don't know too many ways to fix that. It's usually etched into the glass and there for the duration. Hope this helps. I know it sounds simple, but it's worked for me.
 

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DiggingThePast777

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If it's an ACL Pepsi you definitely don't want to be scrubbing it with anything, but if it's just an embossed glass bottle you can use a pure copper scrubber. It must be pure copper and not steel or else it will leave scratches, copper will not scratch the glass as it's a softer metal.

If you want to clean an ACL bottle you need to keep it dry and simply brush it lightly with a soft toothbrush as the ACL coating can flake off otherwise. Never wet wash an ACL, it becomes more sensitive to abrasion when wet.
 

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DiggingThePast777

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Im embarrassed to say this but what does ACL mean and the look at my post of the tall Pepsi cola bottle I found with soda still in it and the bottle top still on it that's the one I'm trying to clean and it's the outside of the bottle the dirt but I don't want to scrubbed the label off too
 

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DiggingThePast777

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What kind of old Pepsi bottles are you talking about?
Look at my post of the tall old 1970s bottle I found with the bottle cap still on it and soda still inside of it that's the one I'm trying to clean the outside of it but I want to be safe and not take any of the label off as well
 

ddafternoons

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Feb 18, 2023
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Look at my post of the tall old 1970s bottle I found with the bottle cap still on it and soda still inside of it that's the one I'm trying to clean the outside of it but I want to be safe and not take any of the label off as well
Ok, I was under the impression this was a antique. Ignore my post. If it's just stenciled by machine, like modern bottles are, you can just clean it with soap and water, shouldn't bother it. But, if it, for some reason has a paper label, then use extreme care while lightly cleaning it with a damp cloth. Just a wild guess as to what the label is.
 

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DiggingThePast777

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Feb 8, 2021
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If it's an ACL Pepsi you definitely don't want to be scrubbing it with anything, but if it's just an embossed glass bottle you can use a pure copper scrubber. It must be pure copper and not steel or else it will leave scratches, copper will not scratch the glass as it's a softer metal.

If you want to clean an ACL bottle you need to keep it dry and simply brush it lightly with a soft toothbrush as the ACL coating can flake off otherwise. Never wet wash an ACL, it becomes more sensitive to abrasion when wet.
IMG_20230218_123601.jpg
IMG_20230218_123538.jpg
 

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