Care & Cleaning Tips

To keep your bottles looking new, you may want to periodically dust them carefully by taking each piece out of its display case and gently dust them with a dry or lightly dampened cloth. If there is heavy enameling, gilding or gold encrustation, do not scrub or rub hard as this will cause the finish to wear off.

Keep your enameled bottles out of direct sunlight, as the sunlight can fade the paint or enamel over time. It can also change the color of your early glass pieces to a lavender tone due to UV lights.

Old perfume residue can degrade the paint inside the bottles which have been enameled internally. It can also cause unsightly cloudiness or etch the inside of the bottles which cannot be remedied. If your bottle has dried perfume residue inside, you can clean this easily with denatured alcohol. Remove atomizer hardware and use a dropper to fill the inside of the bottle with the denatured alcohol, you can leave this inside overnight to loosen stubborn residue.

I have had good luck with using vodka, rum and even whiskey inside the bottles in place of denatured. Alcohol. Another good tip is to use cotton swabs to reach some stubborn spots inside too. Another technique to try is to fill the bottle with small glass seed beads along with the denatured alcohol and place a finger over the mouth of the bottle, let it sit for an hour or two, then give a gentle shake to loosen up perfume residue, continue until clean.

An ugly green blemish sometimes appears on atomizer hardware. It occurs when moisture comes in contact with brass or other base metals over a period of time. Verdigris is destructive to finishes and to counteract this effect, it should be caught in time before it does any more damage. Verdigris also causes unsightly pits in the hardware and will spread to other pieces. If there is verdigris on the hardware, some old fashioned remedies are the best way to clean it is with some vinegar, ketchup, or lemon juice and a toothbrush. These are all highly acidic in nature, and should do a good job of removing the verdigris, but may also mar the finish on your hardware. First rub the verdigris with a cloth to remove the flaky stuff, use a toothbrush to scrub it a little more. Then afterwards, you can dab on the vinegar ketchup or lemon juice with a cotton swab. Be sure to always dry your hardware thoroughly after cleaning. In light of this, I would recommend these verdigris removers are Jewelry Joose , available online.

Repair & Restoration

If your bottle is broken, chipped or is a bottle in need of other repair I have compiled a list of people who offer these services. I have not personally used these companies, so please do so at your own risk.

Note: this listing is several years old and the companies may no longer be in business.

Here is a list for Glass Gluing/Repair/Restoration:

  1. Kory R. Berrett - 3053 Reisler Rd. Oxford,PA 19363 (610)-932-2425 
  2. Ray Errett, Conservator - Glass Restoration & Repair 101 Mohican Trail Wilmington, NC 28409 (910)-792-1807
  3. A. Ludwig Klein & Son -PO Box 145 Harleysville, PA 19438 (215)-256-9004
  4. Baer Specialty Shop - 259 E. Browning Rd Bellmawr, NJ 08031 (856)-931-0696
  5. Sharon Smith Abbott Fine Wares Restoration - Highland Ridge Rd PO Box 753 Bridgton, ME 04009 (207)-647-2093
  6. Montano's Antique Glass Repair - P.O. Box 710 Emmett, ID 83617 - Toll Free: 1-(888)-998-8722
  7. Bokrosh Studio - 1905 22nd Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98144 (206)-860-9748
  8. The China & Crystal Clinic - 1808 N. Scottsdale Road Tempe, AZ 85281 Toll Free 1-(800)-658-9197
  9. Precious Pieces - 1604 Chesterfield Avenue Henderson, Nevada USA 89014 Toll-Free (877)-451-9489
  10. Restoration Services - 9 Mystic Street Arlington, MA 02474 (781)-648-3322
  11. Edward and James Poore The Crystal Workshop - 794 Sandwich Road P.O. Box 475 Sagamore, MA 02561 Toll Free: 1-888-869-0867
Chips Removed by Cutting:

  1. Antique Glass Restoring - The 202 Shops Route 202 PO Box 216 New Hope, PA 18938 (215)-794-7724
  2. Linda Reininger Glassy Lassy - 217 Penguin Rd Bricktown, NJ 08723 (908)-920-1987
  3. OKB - 140 Bradford Drive West Berlin, NJ 08091 (856)-768-5400
  4. Vandermark Merrit Glass Studios - 240 Readington Rd Somerville, NJ 08876 (908)-231-8189
  5. Mr. Fix-It Ira Gladstone - 4652, boul Décarie Montréal, Québec H3X 2H5 Toll Free 1-800-613-1202
  6. Goodbye Mrs. Chips - Redmond, WA 98052-5730 (425)-558-9142
  7. Paul M. Nulton - P.O. Box 777 , Hallstead , PA 18822-0777 (570)-879-4627
Replacement Parts & Fitting Services:

  • Paradise & Co. offers modern replacement parts as well as gorgeous antique bottles with original and replaced hardware: http://www.paradise-co.com/index.html
  • First Impressions offers modern replacement parts: http://ffirstimpressions.com/atomiser-repairs.html
Note: First Impressions advises people to get rid of the original old hardware! I say - no, don't get rid of it, just put it aside in a safe place, in case you ever decide to part with the bottle, you can still offer up the original hardware.

  • Atomizers King offers modern replacement and reproduction atomizers: https://www.atomizersking.com/Xcart/home.php?cat=259

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