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Stuck Glass Stopper

post #1 of 17
8/1/12 at 3:38pm
Thread Starter 
I have an old perfume bottle, looks like Venetian and the glass stopper is stuck. I'm afraid to break the bottle but twisting and turning the top. How do I get this unstuck?

Thank you.
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post #2 of 17
8/1/12 at 4:44pm
You may have already thought of this and had a reason for rejecting it, but hot running water applied to the "collar" may expand it enough to relax its grip on the stopper. Good luck ...
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post #3 of 17
8/1/12 at 6:10pm
I had the same problem in the past and somebody here gave me a link with an accurate description of what to try. Anyway, one method was to put the bottle in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Do not try to twist. When I tried, I broke the cap and my finger. broken glass is like a knife.

cacio
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post #4 of 17
8/1/12 at 10:23pm
Try inserting a needle to lift it off.
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post #5 of 17
8/4/12 at 4:43pm


Get this Tri-flow stuff. Get the silicone lubricant. Works really well.
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post #6 of 17
8/19/12 at 2:00pm
I'm a glassblower and this is a very common "repair" that I have to do. Try lightly tapping the female fitting with a wooden spoon. Also try rocking the fitting back and forth. They are never 100% perfect. Another thing to try is running it under hot water for a minute.

Don't twist it very hard. It could break and cause a serious cut.
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post #7 of 17
9/7/12 at 7:55pm
you're not kidding! I'm currently nursing a nasty cut caused from a vintage stopper. Its still stuck, but I'm going to try some of the methods here once my finger heals.
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post #8 of 17
9/7/12 at 8:29pm
Ouch! What was your offending bottle? Mine was vintage Arpege. It came out without efforts after visiting the refrigerator.

cacio
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post #9 of 17
9/8/12 at 5:56pm
I continue to have success with this relatively simple method:

Wrap the bottle and stopper in a paper towel, and go sit down someplace comfortable. This will take awhile. Grasp the stopper in one hand and the bottle in the other and then very firmly "bend and hold" first one way, then the other. Again and again, in all directions. Do not twist, do not pull, do not use tools. Just bend and hold.

This bend and hold method allows the glass to flex slightly, which allows air into the bottle in microscopic quantities, while it encourages the liquid perfume to slowly migrate into the ground glass seal, which then softens any hardened reside and allows further movement. You may be causing the most imperceptible movement by this repeated bending, but it works.

The reason, I believe, is that over a period of time a vacuum actually devlops inside the sealed bottle. The alcohol and some perfume oils go out, but not much air actually goes in. So part of the reason that getting the stopper out is so difficult is because it is actually under vacuum pressure. (Hmm... if is was under positive pressure, getting the stopper out would be pretty easy).

I have tried a variety of hot, cold, soaking, tapping methods but this bend and hold method always seems to work. Work at it for awhile, then give it a rest. Then come back and do it some more. It's always a surprise when the stoper comes free. But it usually does.
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post #10 of 17
9/10/12 at 10:13am
It was a vintage bottle of Joy and the top was chipped.
QUOTE=cacio;2691215]Ouch! What was your offending bottle? Mine was vintage Arpege. It came out without efforts after visiting the refrigerator.

Update: Success! I got it out but it wasn't pretty! I tried the fridge method, then I pushed around the edges with a screwdriver and it popped like a champagne cork!
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post #11 of 17
9/12/12 at 12:17am
Thanks, I will try the bend and hold method after a fridge visit. I have a Weil that is absolutely refusing to budge with all the hot water and force methods. I really don't want to break it and have left it alone for a long while after many a battle. I shall give it another go.

I have another with a vintage rubber stopper stuck fast. It has welded itself to the glass by decomposition and I don't want to get rubber in the juice. Any ideas for replacement rubber stoppers? I was thinking of carving a new one out of something before going in. I was thinking of the synthetic wine corks.
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post #12 of 17
12/19/12 at 2:01pm
Okay. I tried the bend and hold method on a vintage flaconette of Joy, and it finally worked after 5 days of patient work. I would work on it for 30-60 minutes while watching TV, then put it aside. It helped that after an hour or two, I could smell little whiffs here and there. After a lot more work, I was losing hope when I decided to spend a few minutes on it this morning, et voila! Wow. Definitely a surprise. Thank you very much!
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post #13 of 17
12/19/12 at 2:55pm
A lot of work-but vintage Joy is worth it. Enjoy the jasmine melody and the dirty civet!

cacio
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post #14 of 17
1/8/13 at 7:33pm
Which Weil? I passed up a bottle of Cassandra on ebay for just that problem?
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post #15 of 17
1/25/13 at 2:21am
If it's all failed and you have yet to succeed you may consider using a product like "penetro 90" or "pb blaster" these are from a class of lubricants called penetrating oils. They are molecularly smaller and designed to get down in the small places where other oils cannot. Just be careful to not let the penetrating oil contaminate the fragrances inside. I imagine if you quickly wipe out the neck it will be fine!
GoodLuck!!!
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post #16 of 17
2/16/13 at 9:44pm
Try letting it sit in the fridge for a couple hours. The glass should shrink a bit. I have a vintage bottle of Le Dix parfum that I can only get the stopper off if it's been in the fridge. Pulls right out.
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post #17 of 17
3/17/13 at 6:41pm
I've had many successes with stuck stoppers using the refrigeration method. If it works, the stopper comes out without using any force or leverage. The glass shrinks slightly, the opposite of the hot water method, and the two glass surfaces,(stopper and neck) part easily.

Depending upon how stuck it is, I have generally only had to put it in for an hour or so.
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