Label glue removal

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
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alix101
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Label glue removal

Post by alix101 » Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:19 pm

Had to share this incredible way to get glue off bottles... Sad yes...
But it always bugs me how well labels are glued on,... I like a clean bottle..
Any how.... Bicarb and olive oil mixed into a paste leave on for a minute and wipe off... Made my brewing year...
Who would of thought it.. :shock:
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Boardmanphil
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Boardmanphil » Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:27 pm

I'm going to have to give this a try!!!!

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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Boardmanphil » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:45 pm

Just tried this out, just wipes straight off!!! Best tip I've had in a while!! Thank you good sir

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Wonkydonkey
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Wonkydonkey » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:48 pm

umm the new massage lotion for homebrewers..i can see it now, hangon thats not a bottle your massaging :^o
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RobP

Re: Label glue removal

Post by RobP » Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:26 pm

My source of bottles is mainly Thatcher's cider since that's what my partner drinks. The plastic labels peel off and leave a horrible residue. This worked, not perfectly but better than anything else I tried.

MTW
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by MTW » Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:28 pm

Can't believe I'm actually looking forward to my next label removal, just to try this! Frankly, I just tend to chuck the tough ones.
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MTW
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by MTW » Sat Dec 16, 2017 12:46 pm

...IT WORKS!

Even got through the remnants of some tough foil labels, though that did take more work with the green scourer. On the other stuff, it was easy.
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Jim
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Jim » Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:31 pm

Ooh, nice tip!! Must try that. :)
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Carnot
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Carnot » Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:32 pm

Label adhesives are normally hydrocarbons resins, which are a sort of rubbery resin. Using the convention that like will dissolve like the best option is to look for something similar. Viola -white spirit. White spirit will shift these resins with relative ease and is fast drying. Soak off most of the paper and then apply a rag with white spirit and this will shift the adhesive. Make sure you was wash the bottle afterwards. We had a batch of honey jars that leaked and reworked them with white spirit. The low odour version works well too. I would prefer this over olive oil, or any other veg oil.

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Wonkydonkey
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Wonkydonkey » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:01 am

Olive oil and bicarbonate of soda would be my go to, as its food grade, unless you can show me a food grade white spirit

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Jim
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Jim » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:45 am

I've used white spirit on a label that wouldn't come off with anything else I tried. It doesn't really need to be food grade though does it? It's only going on the outside of the bottle.
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Carnot
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Carnot » Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:16 pm

As long as the white spirit is applied to the bottle exterior the chances of contamination are negligible to non existent. I would be more concerned about certain surfactants in cleaning solutions than white spirit as these are polar and will cling. Lighter hydrocarbons (hexane/ heptane types which are also used in fast grab builders adhesives such as Gripfil) will do the job equally well, and there are food grade materials available for professional use; these are used in edible oil extraction (canola, olive, etc) to extract the residual oil after the first pressing. Another food grade alternative would be a liquid paraffin, of which food and medical grades exist. Though this will work it, being heavier (high boiling range and high molecular weight), will take longer and like olive oil will take some shifting.

I am not sure what sodium bicarbonate does in the olive oil recipe. It will not dissolve in the olive oil, as the olive oil is essentially dry, with very low moisture content. Personally I would expect that the sodium bicarbonate is not necessary.

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Eric
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Eric » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:27 pm

Sodium bicarbonate acts as an abrasive in cleaners such as toothpaste. A light marks or stains on a bath or such can often be quickly removed by gentle rubbing with toothpaste on a soft cloth.

After recently cleaning some copper pipework with steel wool I found spots of rust on the paintwork of my car where fragments had landed which would neither wash or polish off. Toothpaste again came to the rescue.

I would suspect bicarbonate of soda is the cleaner and olive oil the lubricant.
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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Carnot » Sun Dec 24, 2017 7:31 pm

Not sure if I go with that thinking. Sodium bicarbonate in toothpaste is viewed as a low abrasive option. I am sceptical about this as in the mouth the bicarbonate will dissolve in the moisture. What it will do is generate carbon dioxide and neutralise acids in the mouth which will help tooth enamel. In olive oil I am not convinced at all. Even if it is abrasive it will quickly be coated in rubbery residue from the adhesive. This is like trying to rub down newly painted surface with a wet or dry paper. It is not easy as the abrasive silicon will become clogged. I am of course open to persuasion but a good drop of solvent never fails. Trust me.

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Re: Label glue removal

Post by Fil » Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:36 am

a furious 10 second attack with the blunt back of a table knife on a damp label does the trick for me shifting even the sticky backed non water soluble gum some b*ggers use.. tho a post scrape wipe of isopropanol or acetate will shift any gum remnants..
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