Topic: Scratched and Waterstained Glass

[Pinkspoons]

Following on from this archived thread: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,17154.0.html

My new hobby is learning to restore glass (for personal use only) and I had a little success removing the shallowest of scratches and scuffs using cerium oxide on some of my own collection, but it was very laborious and time-consuming. I recently gave diamond lapping paste a whirl, with great (and fast) results. Lapping paste is generally used in the restoration of woodworking tools to sharpen metal blades - but it also works wonders on glass. To get rid of a fairly deep scratch on the side of one of my favourite vases took about 10-15 minutes with medium grit lapping past on a felt bob and left it with a near-perfect shine. Another 10 minutes with fine grade cerium oxide slurry will finish it off. Needless to say, I'm very chuffed.

Although, be warned, it's quite pricey if you go for the best quality stuff (I've found around £8 - £12 for 2g, depending on the grit) but a little does go a long way. You can get much cheaper on eBay, especially if you buy from Hong Kong, but I don't know what the quality is like.

[Pinkspoons]

Oh, I also use a Clarke Rotary Tool System with flexi-shaft. Just like Dremel, but much much cheaper (the whole thing cost me less than £20 from Aldi or Lidl or somesuch shop).

Can't find anyone stocking them online, but one ended recently on eBay: Auction

[Ohio]

I use a Dremel with a paste of 1/4 water & 3/4 extra fine rubbing compound used for auto paint in a body shop. Works like a charm. Ken

[Pinkspoons]

That also works great for polishing soft metals like pewter, copper and aluminium to a mirror finish. Never tried it on glass, though - I just assumed it wouldn't be hard enough.

[Ohio]

I just use it on speed setting #2 & avoid heat that cracks glass, granted it takes awhile, however it will take a microscopic layer off & removes sickness. I know a guy who devised a setup (body shop guy) where he puts a paste mixture of 1/2 water & 1/2 paste in decanters with small hard plastic balls the size of BBs & puts the piece in a metal container packed in styrofoam balls so it cannot move then inserts it between 4 adjustable rollers that rotates the containers at low speeds. After 24 hours you would not believe the results those little plastic balls rubbing around with the paste solution achieves in sick decanters. Trouble is he has $600 in the mechanical setup & for what little I do (I don't buy sick glass as a rule) its overkill. Ken

[Pinkspoons]

I looked into building my own tumbler a few years back but, as you say, the costs proved quite prohibitive.

Rock-tumblers work on an identical premise, and at a fraction of the price, but just aren't big enough to take most decanters and vases. 

[Andy]

Ive been meaning to have a go at this for a while, very helpful stuff, and read through
the archived link as well.
I thought id pop a post on, so , when i do one day, get around to it, i can find the thread!
Cheers and thanks to all,
Andy
 

[gfirob]

I have been looking into solving the problem of sick glass on Scandinavian pieces that I have.  In the US (and probably other countries as well) there is a popular hobby in digging up antique bottles and the technology for cleaning them has been pretty well established.  In involves tumbling them while filled with a mixture made up of small bits of copper wire, aluminum oxide and water.  Tumbling machines can be purchased or made in a do-it-yourself fashion if you are handy.  Copper wire is expensive to buy and laborious to cut into little fragments, but a small jig can be made to cut the wire using a drill press or hand drill and aluminum oxide is not expensive.  In the US, all the supplies you need as well as the machines (and parts of machines) can be purchased through the Jar Doctor at:
http://www.jardoctor.com

Information about bottle cleaning and making your own machine is available (if you are willing to read a long and dig through a lot of posts) at"
http://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/Cleaning-and-Repairing/forumid-4/tt.htm

This is a forum for bottle collectors.

The major two differences that I have seen between cleaning bottles and cleaning art glass is that bottles usually require cleaning on the outside and bottles usually have small and easy to close openings at the top.  Vases often have wide or irregular openings and almost never need to be cleaned on the outside (so less copper is needed and the system can be simpler). 

Anyway, I have purchased about 5 pounds of cut copper (about enough for a single vase) and a container of aluminum oxide for about $50 and we are looking into building a very simple tumbler.  I'll pass on the progress as we move forward.

Thanks

Rob

[twenty21]

Just wondering whether any of you have any suggestions about getting rid of the cloudiness from inside a glass bottle. I have an IIttala Timo Sarpaneva bird bottle in purple with obvious waterstains (a wide band of calcification all round). I tried various products and tricks with no success ;-(  Carlo

[gfirob]

There are a lot of suggestions for this, but I think the only real way to beat hazing or deposits that resist all cleaning is using copper bits and aluminum oxcide for polish.  It takes about 5 lbs of copper or so to fill an average vase and they you can fill the bottle or vase half up with copper, two table spoons of oxide and some water and then either shake it for as long as you can or get a tumbler.  I am in the process of making a tumbler for art glass (as distinct from gems or bottles.

Those Sarpaneva bottles are very nice and its is certainly worth an attempt to clean it up.
Rob