Choosing to clean a bottle really depends upon your preferences and those of the collectors you are dealing with. While some collectors believe cleaning them ruins their integrity, the majority of them desire bottles that captivate, glisten, have clearly defined details, and have little to no cracks. Cleaning then becomes a very important method in the process of persuading potential customers.
For cleaning the inside of bottles, I believe that it is best to use a mixture of water and sand, place a cork in them, and shake them for about three minutes. Unlike most brushes, sand scrubs the dirt without scratching or otherwise harming the bottle. It is important that the sand is not too fine or coarse, so I usually pick up a mid-grade decorative sand from Michael’s or other craft stores. If there is not a lot of caked on dirt, I will simply use a combination of water and a dishwashing liquid. In the presence of sticky substances, I would recommend repeating this process with salt and vinegar.
To wash the outsides, I will either wipe them down with soap and water or soak the bottles in bleach to remove any residue. However, different types of bottles call for different styles of cleaning. For instance, with any paper-label bottles, you can apply the same methods for cleaning the insides, but you must be especially careful when dealing with the outsides. In this situation, I will generally take a damp q-tip or a piece of bread and wipe down their labels. For painted-label bottles, it is better to first soak them in kerosene, as this removes dirt without drying out their paint. Then I usually take a very soft bristled toothbrush and apply a light automotive compound. To accentuate their shininess and to keep the labels from fading out, I will occasionally rub car wax onto them using a small towel.
In the case of extreme cloudiness, you may either pay a professional $15 to $17 a bottle to clean them or you can invest in your very own tumbling machine, which involves placing a bottle inside a fixed cylinder, bathing it in a mixture of polishing abrasive, water, and bits of copper, and rotating it anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. If none of these options sound appealing, you can put mineral oil inside and let it soak overnight. This method is not guaranteed to completely remove cloudiness, but it is a much cheaper way to give the bottle some clarity.
Bottle Bonanza 
