ACL soda labels coming off

[whosyerdaddy]

im new to this site done alot of digging over the years early 60's thru 80's i recently discovered an old ash dump with lots of ACL sodas in it labels are all coming loose though when i get them out of the ground any ideas out there on how to stop this??? thanx whosyerdaddy

 

[digdug]

I haven't come up with any good way to save the ACL. Once it has aged and been in the elements, the ACL is unstable. Last year I pulled 150 ACL's out of a farm dump and once I got them home and cleaned them only 5 were worth saving. I do know someone that will seal the ACL on the bottle before cleaning them. I'll see what he uses and get back with you.

 

[whosyerdaddy]

thanx doug all im getting now is plain clear and green bottles lol

 

[whosyerdaddy]

all i have been able to save so far is partial labels

 

[glopf43]

Hey whosyerdaddy. I have had some success in keeping the ACLs I have dug intact. If you wish you can go to the "cleaning and diplaying" forum. I have posted some suggestions in the thread "before and after". Although, the soil I"m digging in is not "ashy" the dump is also from the late 60s early 70s. Good luck...

 

[flasherr]

The main thing that I can suggest is when you dig the bottles set them to the side. Let them dry for several days if not weeks if you can wait that long. Let the paint re harden or you can wash a painted label right off. i know its hard to wait but don't even rinse them off if the paint is that fragile. just a sugestion
Brian

 

[Gunsmoke47]

Here's a question. After letting the ACL adapt to room temperature, why couldn't you bake it in the oven at a low teperature for an hour or so? Of course you wouldn't do this with 100 year old bottles, but most of the ACL's should be made of a much stronger, more stable glass. Kind of bake it on like you would the old enamel car paints. Might be a good experiment if someone has dug a non valuable bottle with this problem. Am I totally nuts?[] Kelley

 

[flasherr]

That is an interesting idea Kelley glad to see IM not the only Texan alive and kicking lol. My only theory on baking it is wouldn't the heat bake the foreign substance into the paint therefore making it almost impossible to get out of the paint pigment? But what do I know im just a dumb ol Texas boy as some of the Yankees think of us lol. No offense to you Yankees lol.

Brian

 

[snake oil]

I found a nice ACL soda at work , a few years back . I cleaned it as soon as I got home with it , and the label washed right off [] . I didn't know you had to let them harden back up before you cleaned them . Thank you for the advice , I think I'll start picking them up and taking them home , again , now that I know how to clean them . []