Ginger Beer Project

[rwmarler]

1st off, my appologies for picture quality. My DC is about as old as some of my bottles.
This is the only earthware bottle I've found and as you can see it needs a little elbow grease. The before and after was from several hours of scrubbing the label area until legible using a child's toothbrush (soft) and a very mild acid wash. My fear is my own unexperience with cleaning and restoring earthware. It's covered with rust-like calcium (either deposited and/or effulicient). Some spots are really thick and I have urges to pick at them [>:] if you look at the R in BEER you'll see a white spot where I picked off a deposit just barely missing the foot in the R. I don't know anything about earthware labeling which would help in determining a cleaning method. Any further cleaning and restoring will only be done from the advice from my fellow ABN members.

Research...Research...Research...Eureka!

HOME BREWED GINGER BEER, LATTER & CO., SEATTLE WASH., CONTENTS 10 OZ.

 

[Bottle tumbler]

My opinion is to soak it in water and muratic acid.
1 gallon of water to 1/2 cup of acid cover and leave alone for 24 hours then soak as needed
I do this with my stoneware jugs or crocks I find and it works good, not perfect but good, on bottles it works real good and thats because you can scrub the hell out of them if you want and no problem with the glass.
stoneware is fired and mostly to my knowledge is salt glazed and soaking it will not hurt it,
it is baked on under the salt glaze.

rick

 

[rwmarler]

Thanks Rick for your reply.
I have been using, what we call at the concrete plant where I work, "acid wash" which is used to wash down our trucks every day. I'm sure its muratic acid, but it might be too mild for this. How concentrated is yours according to your 1 to 32. Also, am I of any danger of losing the labeling ink? I guess if the ink was applied before the bottle was fired then its possible its soaked in and not just on the surface.? (of course I'm thinking in 100ths of an inch) If needed, I got stuff at work we call "ALIEN" blood.
Bob
Research, research, ...[X(]

 

[Bottle tumbler]

I have a part of a crock soaking now and it is salt glazed, and it wont be touched. yours is the same. just soak part of it for now, fill the inside of the bottle and then sit it in a pail and bring the mixture up to the bottom of the lable and see what happens, I'm sure it's ok to soak the whole thing though. it was fired on.
mix 1gallon of water to 1/2 cup of acid. I just eye it up, I dont use cups to measure.

rick

 

[oldshoe4u]

Hey Bob I've done a lot with stoneware and I can tell you that if the glaze is flakey already things may not go so good for you[]. Sorry to say, but I have had no luck with any stoneware that has gotten moisture under the glaze. I have had a couple of pieces actually get worse after sitting around the house and dying out (sold those real quick).. Give it heck and if it dont work out chalk it up to experience..[]
Best of luck!
BOB

 

[rwmarler]

Here's after soaking 12 hrs in 1:2 muratic. Oh well, might just end up with a RUSTic look. Next post is what I want.

 

[rwmarler]

But as Mick Jagger sang "You can't always get what you want." Here's the link where I found it. http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~lockhart/EPSodas/Chapter12/12h/chap12h.htm I still have some ideas.

 

[Bottle tumbler]

keep soaking it and you'll come close to it.

rick

 

[oldshoe4u]

I'd say the glaze must be pretty good if it cleaned up that well in 12 hrs! I definatley agree with Rick keep soaking it, its apparantly working. I cant wait to see the finished product!
BOB

 

[CJCrystalmines]

Be careful as to how long you soak it without checking it. Make sure you rinse well in baking soda to neutralize it. Otherwise the acid will continue working. I had soaked some quartz crstals in a stronger solution, and forgot about them for about a month. When I took the lid off the bucket most everything was almost completely disolved. If you can get hold of some hydrochloric acid try that, but be very careful. If the acid doesn't work, you might try engine cleaner. The kind that comes in the can the foams up. I've had great luck with that on bottles, silver and gems.
Carmen