wax dipping your wine bottles...

[Beta_Grumm]

So, here I am at work, thinking about wine instead of my work, and I was thinking about how ugly my corked bottles are. I mean they aren't that bad, but the corks are kinda ugly on top. they have a divet in them from the corker, and they a "lip" that sticks up above the tip of the bottle, anyways, i was thinking of ways to dress them up. At my LHBS they have the foil covers, and heat shrink covers, and as I was thinking of those when the idea of WAX came into my head and I immediately liked it.

Something like this:
http://www.etchedimages.com/wine-bottle-wax

So my question is, who has done it? Is it difficult? Any drawbacks?

 

[Runningwolf]

Hey Beta, I looked at the site. This is not actually wax but reminds me of the liquid you dip your hand tools into, to coat the handles. It is also very expensive and time consuming (two step process)compared to shrink capsules. Also it takes two hours to melt it down and you have a clean up process involved if you don't buy a deep fryer for each color. I would try wax first and see if you like the effect.

 

[Beta_Grumm]

The site was more for reference of what I wanted them to look like. Not so much that particular product.

And yes, clean up and preparation will be much more involved and time consuming.
I've already got a few of my pots tied up with cheese wax in them (didn't think that one through)

 

[upper]

So Beta ,you also do the Cheese Go-Go? Upper

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

The site was more for reference of what I wanted them to look like. Not so much that particular product.

And yes, clean up and preparation will be much more involved and time consuming.
I've already got a few of my pots tied up with cheese wax in them (didn't think that one through)

BG... those bottles look pretty darn nice... I wonder how hard they would be to open... no tear tab... but, they would be nice for gifts. They really do look nice.
HB

 

[mmadmikes1]

seems like paraffin wax and some crayolas would give same look for far less money,If I was dipping bottles into hot wax I would make bottles cold first. You know, I might try this

 

[Beta_Grumm]

I really like the look. I dont know. maybe its not worth the work, but I think I would be willing to do it anyways.

As far as the cheese goes... It's kind of on hold atm. I was going at it for a while, but the wheels I made and waxed either poped holes in the wax, or I damaged the wax while in storage. I dont have a very good set up for it so I'm working on making a more suitable environment for it.

But yeah, hence the cheese wax that i melted down in one of my good pans, and now i have hard and super sticky cheese wax in my pan. :|

 

[TheTooth]

I've never tried it personally, but I can say that I'm not a fan of the wax when it's on a purchased bottle of wine. It just seems like more of a pain to me to get something to cut off the wax to get to the cork. I now keep a fancy tool (flat head screwdriver) for this purpose, but I still prefer shrink wraps.

Also, if I want to reuse the bottle, it can be a pain to get all that was off again.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Chateau Joe]

BG... those bottles look pretty darn nice... I wonder how hard they would be to open... no tear tab... but, they would be nice for gifts. They really do look nice.
HB

Are you sure they are nice?



I've never tried it myself but evertime I go to my LHBS I see the wax pellets and I get tempted. If you give it a try please let us know how you like it.

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

Are you sure they are nice?

Give me a break, Joe... look at what time of the day I posted that... I barely remember it...

 

[St Allie]

seems like paraffin wax and some crayolas would give same look for far less money,If I was dipping bottles into hot wax I would make bottles cold first. You know, I might try this

actually.. you'd want to warm the bottle necks first.. cold glass and hot liquids don't mix.. The glass is more likely to crack if it's cold.

Allie

 

[Beta_Grumm]

Good point allie. Reminds me of my mother canning friut, and if the jars weren't warm enough they'd blow off the bottom of the jar.

It seems that some waxes are fairly easy to peel according to the people using them. For added ease I don't see why one couldn't drape a string or something over the top of the bottle before dipping. that would give it a pull tab tear string type thing.

I'll give it a try here as soon as I get paid. I'll post pics and let you know how it is.

 

[Runningwolf]

Give me a break, Joe... look at what time of the day I posted that... I barely remember it...

Doesn't patronizing get you a free bottle, so you can share with the rest of the forum how beautiful that bottle was as you drank it?

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

I don't think so... but can't say I didn't try... ::

 

[mmadmikes1]

I'll send you a bottle to share with EVERYONE. O do you want something in it?

 

[kiljoy]

I used to dip my homemade Kahlua in clear Gulf Wax when I bought generic bottles from Pier 1. I melted it in an old tin can in some boiling water on the stove. The corks with those bottles tended to leak, so the wax helped.

Now that I’m making wine and have better equipment, the shrink tops are the way to go. I love them. But I’ve been doing screw tops. I hope to buy a corker with some Christmas $$. I may use a little wax on the tops just for looks and still shrink top.