antique bottles THE MEDICINE CHEST --- BY DR. RICHARD CANNON old bottles

BOTTLE FIXING

If you go for old bottles, you've probably had to tolerate a few chips and dings in your collection. But these can be repaired if you can stand the damage no longer and like to tinker around. Often the results are so good they are difficult to spot by others. But a repaired bottle should always be revealed to a prospective buyer, the value is always less.

Chips, bubble bursts, missing lip portions, chipped corners if not all the way through, and even dings by grinding away damage glass first with sand paper or grinding tools are things I will tackle. I know of no cure for cracks.

Epoxy glue can be used, but tends to have bubbles and turn brown with age. Therefore, I prefer a clear casting resin available at art stores such as Castin' Craft Liquid Plastic Casting Resin by ETI, Fields Landing, Ca. 95537. They also make the Liquid Hardener and dyes in several colors to match the glass to be repaired. Wooden cotton tipped applicators, a sharp knife, a small clear glass dish for mixing, and Acetone, C.P. for cleaning up are also needed. The margin of repair will blend with the resin better if it is dulled first by sand paper or hydrofluoric acid.

Scotch Tape, 3M, St. Paul, Min., works well to build a mold across the damaged area. The resin is carefully applied and can be directed into small areas with the sharpened tip of a wooden applicator stick. After 24 hours the Scotch Tape can be removed, and in another 48 hours the hardened resin can be sanded and shaped. More resin can be added at this time if necessary.

When the area has been sanded to the desired shape, a coating of resin can be applied with an applicator stick to cover the repair if the bottle is whittled and crude, or Formby's Tung Oil Finish, low or high gloss, Thompson and Formby, Inc., Olive Branch, Ms. 38654 can be used for a smoother finish. Several coats applied with a lint free cloth or paper napkin will be needed.

The results depend on your artistic ability and perseverance. Certain repairs I have had to do, scratch my head, and do again several times before getting the desired results.

Extreme temperature variations should be avoided when displaying or storing repaired bottles, because glass and resin do not expand and contract at the same temperatures. This may crack the resin.

I claim to be no expert, and would hesitate to repair someone else's bottle. There are "experts" around. Once I mailed a very expensive bottle for a minor repair to one such person. When my package arrived there, it looked like it had been tossed into a cage of wild animals. Fortunately, I'd packed the bottle was mailed for repair of a body chip. The "expert" in preparing the area for repair accidentally damaged the bottle beyond repair. Fortunately, the owner was a nice guy.

So live with the damage or take your chances. Either way, it's kind of fun.

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