Decant new after shaves in older bottles?

[Davidkimberly]

I decant Clubman and Florida Water from plastic bottles into glass. I have a MacGregor horse head full of FW and an Avon pipe with Clubman in it.

 

[GearNoir]

Anybody got some good tricks in cleaning/sanitizing without destroying?

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It’s glass, so you can use just about anything except highly corrosive stuff. Soak it in warm water. Start mild with Dawn and a soft bottle scrub brush. Alcohol will sometimes help strip gunk. You can even use paint thinner, scrubbing bubbles, etc.

 

[Davidkimberly]

I wouldn't mix a modern scent into an OS bottle that has some vintage product left (if that was what you inferred above). Use up the old stuff first and then fill it with the new stuff
"Was thinking about adding the current juice to them just to have them full."

 

[DCRIII]

Nice!!!

Thanks.

Here’s my humble beginnings. Especially in love with the 2 in the back. The left art deco one is an old Swedish hair pomade bottle coined ‘Swing’, I assume the same company that made the Swing DE razors back in the day.

Only thing is that you risk some of these old bottles having been filled with some irky stuff so that the aftershave turns unusuable. This goes for mine on the right, this has to go.

Anybody got some good tricks in cleaning/sanitizing without destroying?

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Not knowing what was initially in the bottles you're reusing makes it a little difficult to know how to properly clean them from reuse, particularly plastic lids that can retain odors.
For the chemical apothecary bottles I used, I soaked them in a either a base or acid solution to neutralize any potential leftover residue.

 

[Northstonehill]

Thanks for some good advice, gents. What I have done ‘til now with all is let them sit for 24 hours fully emerged in dish soap and water, starting out from boiling temp. And checking for residue of course.

The one I was distrusting had residue that this process did not remove. So I filled with distillled alcohol (white spirits) and let it sit for a week. Residue still there after this I thought probably it would just remain there without problems. But for test I then filled it with cheap aftershave to check. And it turned bad over a couple of weeks, smells like chemicals now. Glad I did not just put AS in and start using...

So I guess there is a risk if one uses bottles that not are 100% clean. So now I look more closely before buying such bottles.

 

[Mr Vigilante]

I got my Flying Cloud and red telescope decanters today (Merry Christmas to me). They were both empty. As is the silver admiral's flask. I did that deliberately. I would never pollute vintage juice. I've never had intentions of taking two innocent after shaves into the lab to build myself a Frankenscent.

Since I've never smelled the Shulton stuff, I don't want to be bias. "Ignorance is Bliss." Though, out of curiosity...I practically shoved them up my nose to give them a good, strong whiff. It smelled old and rusty. If that's what the Shulton stuff smelled like, you can have it!

I've decanted the after shave into the Flying Cloud and decided to decant cologne into the telescope.
What do you gents think of the cologne's scent?

 

[cryhavoc]

I decant my AV Ice Blue into a vintage AV bottle, my AV Musk into a glass AV Musk bottle. My Skin Bracer gets decanted into a vintage Skin Bracer Construction Worker bottle and my Pinuad Clubman gets decanted into a vintage Pinuad bottle.

 

[DoctorStrobe]

I found this Avon seashell bottle that used to contain a bath oil.
I mix my own AS splash into it using witch hazel, a few splashes of some vintage Avon AS and sometimes a bit of Thayer's Medicated witch hazel.

It's a bit awkward to use but looks nice on the sink.