I was wondering if it is possible or if anyone had any luck with taking a label off of a glass bottle, to use as a decal. i want to use it as signage for a building. Any one have any tips or ideas? The hard part so far, has been getting the label off the bottle.
Thanks for any help you may have
Bob
Used to be you could put the bottle label side down in a sink full of warm to hot soapy water for awhile and the label would come right off. I don’t know if that trick works any more. You need to soak it enough to soften/loosen the glue used to apply the label so it comes off in one piece}.
Obviously if is a painted or printed on the label it ain’t coming off.
If you can soak the label off the bottle, then while its wet see if you can’t separate some paper layers off it to thin it down some. Be very carefull doing that…an exacto knife might be helpful, then glue it on your building while it is soaking wet with very diluted white glue { or maybe even using solvaset{?} to sink it into the bricks or siding}, spray or apply a coat of dullcoat and voila, maybe you have what you want.
Some years ago I was playing around with a product that looked like a white glue but smelled a little different. Can’t recall the name, but basically you spread it on a paper label, let it dry, and you were able to peel the dried product off, and it captured the inked layer of the paper in it. Left most of the paper on the surface it wased printed on. Found the idea fascinating. Maybe Mod-Podge will do the same thing? One of the craft stores, like Michael’s might have something similar. Not sure if this might adapt to what you want to do. The product could be very visible, but I’m remembering back at least 20 years.
In older times soaking in water worked for most labels but now many use different glue. One possible solution is to heat the bottle in the oven (perhaps around 175-200F) for a minute or two and often the label can then be carefully peeled off. It will still have adhesive although probably not quite enough to stick reliably in your desired location. I’ve used the method quite successfully to remove labels from wine bottles, although there it was clean bottles that was the goal.
John
Contact the manufacturer of the product, tell it what you are trying to do, and it may well send you a brand new label.
Rich
Just a quick update. I’m trying to remove a clear label, that seems pretty thick. It is not printed on paper. I had tried soaking it in cold water before posting my question, with fair to poor results. i just tried with warm water and had better results, but may try hot water and longer soak time. i also tried to adhere it to a scrap piece of styrene, but not enough glue left to stick. I am going to get some Micro-set before my next attempt. I will keep you posted to my results.
Thanks to all who offered tips.
Bob
Try “Goo-Gone”. Spray it on, let it set -up. Wait 'till it’s dry and then CAREFULLY peel the label off of the container. DO NOT RUSH THIS or the label will not come off in one piece.