Please Help! Question about tumbled bottle.

[Sir.Bottles]

Well this is sounds stupid but, I need to know. How to find out that a bottle has been tumbled or not.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

Not a dumb question at all.

well , I guess this implies you are getting it from someone else? Did you ask them?

Its easier to determine if a bottle hasnt been tumbled than to determine if it has in my opinion (assuming it isnt badly overtumbled).
If the glass has fine scratches or dirt on the surface it probably hasnt been tumbled.
Tumbling often leaves tale tell circular marks in the neck and bottom where the process isnt as efficient.

There are different levels of tumbling so it isnt always that simple a question.
A bottle can be tumbled and polished or tumbled and cut with diffent effects.

 

[chosi]

After I tumble a bottle, I find there are 2 places that need touching up. One is where the finger stopples touched the bottom of the bottle, which leaves either 3 or 4 equally spaced spots along the bottom edge of the base. These spots sometimes have some cloudiness.

The other is where the cone stopple fits into the mouth of the bottle, leaving some cloudiness just inside the top lip of the bottle.

I usually rub these areas with steel wool to try to remove the remaining cloudiness. It's possible if you looked close enough, you might see some sign of some cloudiness in one of these areas, indicating the bottle was tumbled.

 

[WonGan]

I thought I remember where someone even tumbled their bottles end over end to get all areas,like corners.I have never seen a machine for this though.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

I dont think that would acheive much additional benefit.

 

[Sir.Bottles]

ts very helpfull Thanx everyone[]

 

[Wheelah23]

Usually tumbled bottles, as long as they're narrow necked, will have a little stain left inside the neck, where the copper can't really get. That, and the outside texture of bottles is irreversibly altered when a bottle is tumbled. The subtle difference in texture becomes obvious when you've seen lots of tumbled and untumbled bottles.

 

[Sir.Bottles]

So is tumble considered as repair? i've read an article that saying "A tumbled bottle can NEVER be mint."

 

[diggerdirect]

I wouldn't classify it as a repair, more like a restoration. Light staining can be removed with a tumble with virtually no visible signs to the exterior of the glass, except maybe under high magnification. Many, MANY bottles out there have been 'restored' at some point in their life that do not show any obvious signs. When you start 'cutting' to remove the scratches is when it becomes more evident.

I'd agree a tumbled bottle could never be mint again, on the same token that bottle couldn't be mint again to begin with.
To me any cleaning is to increase displayability

Cleaning machines dont trash bottles, its operator error that does.



JMHO

Al

 

[AntiqueMeds]

Light staining can be removed with a tumble with virtually no visible signs to the exterior of the glass, except maybe under high magnification. Many, MANY bottles out there have been 'restored' at some point in their life that do not show any obvious signs. When you start 'cutting' to remove the scratches is when it becomes more evident.

I think the fact that there are different levels of tumbling with different effects is something a lot of people dont comprehend.
Also in some cases there is no original glass surface left to preserve.
Not sure how I would categorize tumbling, it ranges from simple cleaning/polishing to heavy modification.