Is there a better way?

[ZebraB]

I peel off what I can, soak overnight and the use an oyster shucker to get most of the label off and then use mineral spirits to get the glue residue off. (It is just the outside of the bottle) and then wash off the mineral spirits with oxiclean. It is really quite easy and takes only a few minutes a bottle.

 

[bstnh1]

Plain old hot water works for me. If needed, I use a standard glass scraper (the kind with a razor blade in it). If there's glue or gunk left, I use a stainless steel scrubber with a bit of dish detergent. The newer labels from L.D. Carlson are a snap to remove, especially the all vinyl ones.

 

[montanarick]

here's what i do with recycled bottles. Place them in the oven set on bake at 250° for about 10 minutes then take one out at a time and stick a paring knife under one corner to start lifting the label - make sure you use an oven mitt since bottles are very hot. Once a corner is lifted, just grab onto it between two fingers and peel the whole thing off. Most labels just peel completely off leaving little or no glue residue; however there will be some that leave a residue. Next step is to soak them in Star-San for a good cleaning which also helps dissolve some but not all the remaining glue. For those with really stubborn glue residue, I use naphtha (not mineral spirits) since the naphtha doesn't leave any oily residue - it just evaporates.

 

[Ignoble Grape]

I'm still in the infancy of my hobby, so I'll take any/all bottle donations. I soak in hot water, scrape off with knife, use green scrubber and dish soap for remaining residue. I toss any bottles that have stubborn labels. Some use god-strength glue - I don't know what it is - but it's a mess to get off, even with elbow grease. They aren't worth it, imho. I tried oxiclean and didn't see a difference. Haven't tried star-san or mineral spirits.

Also haven't tried the oven method yet. Perhaps this weekend as I need to prep 6 cases...

 

[montanarick]

I'm still in the infancy of my hobby, so I'll take any/all bottle donations. I soak in hot water, scrape off with knife, use green scrubber and dish soap for remaining residue. I toss any bottles that have stubborn labels. Some use god-strength glue - I don't know what it is - but it's a mess to get off, even with elbow grease. They aren't worth it, imho. I tried oxiclean and didn't see a difference. Haven't tried star-san or mineral spirits.

Also haven't tried the oven method yet. Perhaps this weekend as I need to prep 6 cases...

I used to soak and scrub - what a mess. No more