otto (02/16/83)
I am interested in hearing from others in this group about how to remove labels from bottles for label collections. Are there tricks to steaming labels off that the rest of us should know about, that leave the labels intact and untortured? Is boiling the labels off any better? Also, what do people think about the general rule that the harder it is to remove a label the better the wine? on the theory that proprietors who have something to protect will make it hard to remove the labels, whereas ripoff wines will have their labels affixed with library paste. George Otto Bell Labs, Indian Hill ----------------------
jeq (02/17/83)
I would also be interested in hearing about techniques for label
removal. My recently begun label collection will not survive long
unless I find a method that is more successful than soaking the
bottle in water.
>From my observations, I would agree with the theory that the
difficulty of label removal is commensurate with the price of
the wine.
Jean Quale
Microelectronics Center of North Carolinakinmonth@null.DEC (08/28/84)
I have been saving wine labels since January, with increasing success.
The fastest way to get them off the bottle seems to be to put the
bottle in a kettle of boiling water. I glued my first labels into the
album too soon and had problems with the paper warping and wrinkling.
A label is not always as dry as it seems. I now dry them between paper
towels and between heavy books to make them dry flat. I let them dry
like that for three or four days, changing the towels occasionally.
This length of time seems to get them dry enough to prevent warping.
I use Elmer's glue. Remember, the glue has moisture of it's own, so after
glueing the label to the page I put it back between heavy books until
completely dry. This prevents warping from the glue. Somebody suggested
ironing the labels, which I would have never thought of. I'm going to
give it a try. If you live near a winery you can usually ask for a
souvenir label (one that hasn't been put on a bottle yet) and save
yourself some trouble that way.
As someone else mentioned, there is the occasional label that does
not want to come loose from the bottle (even after hours of boiling).
I have found that careful use of a razor blade (like the kind with a
handle for scraping windows) can eventually remove even the toughest
labels. I haven't tried adding ammonia to the water as someone else
suggested, but I'll try that next time. Razor blades are definitely
a last resort...
Bruce Kinmonth ...decvax!decwrl!rhea!null!kinmonth