Cleaning glass objects from the ocean***added one picture

[JP]

Today I found several glass and ceramic items out in the Pacific. What is the best way to clean them? I remember reading somewhere about soaking them but I don't remember in what. I have the few pieces soaking in fresh water right now and plan on leaving them there until I find a way to properly clean them.

Thanks ahead of time for the solution.

 

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[mad4wrecks]

Re: Cleaning glass objects from the ocean

Capt. JP, you should find the answers to your questions on this website. Check out the menu on the left hand side.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/crl/conservationmanual/File1.htm#Treatment to Stabilize

Post pictures when you can...it would be interesting to see what you have discovered.

Splash! Tom
www.wreckoverysalvage.com

 

[GOHO]

Re: Cleaning glass objects from the ocean

Some artifacts are better left uncleaned!!!! You could lose value by cleaning them......

 

[JP]

Re: Cleaning glass objects from the ocean

Thanks mad4wrecks. I'll check the site out and try to post some pictures later today.

GOHO, I agree with you that a lot of objects look better in their natural state. I only want to clean a couple of the items and display them all together, cleaned and what they came up looking like.

Thanks for the help my treasure hunting friends.

 

[JP]

Re: Cleaning glass objects from the ocean

Here are the objects I brought up. There are bottles that are whole down there and other interesting pieces. The ship wreck is from 1890. All the copper tubing was striped from it years ago including the ship's bell, but interesting pieces can still be discovered around the site.

I didn't want to bring up anything else until I was sure on how to clean them, protect them, and if my wife will allow more junk (treasure) into the house.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[pcolaboy]

GOHO is absolutely correct on the devaluation of the items if resale is your goal.

I've had pretty good luck on late 18th - mid 19th century glass by repeatedly alternating between soaking in 100% lemon juice (a light acid) for 24 hours, rinse, 100% ammonia for 24 hours, rinse, then soaking in boiling hydrogen peroxide for 2 hours. I get the peroxide to boil in the microwave to reduce the amount of evaporation but use caution when doing this by wearing gloves and protective eyewear. I did not derive this combination from anyone other than my own experimentation so perform at your own risk.

I suppose it depends on how strong your desire is to clean the items compared with the expense of the cleaning materials.

I should also point out that most of the glass I cleaned was soiled with highly organic mud. If your glass is tainted with a high amount of petroleum residue, you may have to use a light solvent.

 

[JP]

Thanks PcolaBoy. I'll try cleaning a few of the items this week. A few I will leave how they are.

Honestly I'm not going to sell my finds (I'm greedy, I want it all for me ). I just do this for fun and a hobby.

The glass bottles are a green color.

Again, thanks for the information.

 

[GOHO]

i have used Muriatic Acid before to clean the sea growth off of objects..... use small amounts with q-tip or rag.... have baking soda and water ready to neutralize the acid.... works great for sea shells, glass, coins .......

for coins you have to use aluminum foil also.....

 

[rgecy]

Pure white vinegar works great!

 

[FISHEYE]

Bleach will kill any living coral or animal growth on or inside of any object.Soak your item in a mild solution of plain ole laundry bleach.The encrustation will fall right off.I have a extensive shell collection that i got while diving when i lived in hawaii.Bleach was all i used.

 

[Salvor6]

I used the same thing. Just drop your bottle or shells in a tub of clorox bleach and water overnight. Next day it will be clean.

 

[JP]

Thanks everybody. I ended up using lemon juice. Next time I will try clorox, it's easier then squeezing lemons (I didn't have access to a bottle of lemon juice).

When I get back over there I will post a few more pictures of the item after cleaning and some silver spoons that we pulled out of there too.

 

[southern maine diver]

Hey CapT JP...

I do a lot of underwater bottle hunting up here in northern New England. I have used the "Muriatic acid" mixed with distilled water 50/50 mix. Does a great job... see for yourself...

Here is a seam side flask covered with barnacles. A before and after photo. The bottle came out great. After you take the bottle out of the muriatic acid bath, soak it in the water/baking soda solution to nuetralize. Try this on some of the shards or broken peices to see if you like the results. Keep the acid in a five gallon bucket with the lid that closes tightly. It will be good for a very long time. Be careful, use gloves and eye protection, keep away from children, pets... store outdoors.

Wayne

I have used this method for many years and I have a lot more before/after photos. let me know if you have any other questions

 

[JP]

Southern Maine Diver, thanks for the info. That is incredible how that bottle cleaned up.

MT Pockets, that was an incredible find for .50 cents each. I love finding deals like that.

If you are interested I posted another thread on the beach section.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=295714.msg2132048

 

[pcolaboy]

I tried the Muriatic Acid method unsuccessfully (it etched the glass) but I don't think I diluted it enough and will try it again. Southern Maine Diver...that is an awesome example on your bottle find!

 

[southern maine diver]

Hey Pcolaboy...

How long did you leave your glass in the "soup" (as we call it up here). Sometimes the cleaning process only takes a little while. Also, I seen the etching in some bottles, but not others. It seem like a lot of etching is caused by the curents and sand shifting over some of the bottles I've seen up here and not necessarily caused by the acid bath.

But you may be right, it may be a strength issue. Here's another before and after...

This bottle has NOT I repeat, has NOT been tumbled!!! This is the way it cleaned up after I took it out of the "soup" This type of bottle is high quality glass, though and it comes out of the acid bath in real good condition. Beautiful isn't it?

Wayne

 

[pcolaboy]

The only reason I strongly suspect the muriatic acid etched or otherwise abraded the glass is because a portion of the glass that was not encrusted before the batch was very cloudy and rough to the touch after removal. In each case (twice), I left them in for only 15 minutes which was just enough time to dissolve the barnacles.

I should point out that the mixture I was suggesting to him was for cleaning of non-encrusted glass. We find alot of bottles either fully immersed in the mud of the bay or on land during bottle hunts.