ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Preparing Used Bottle Caps to Make Pendants

Updated on September 28, 2011

Bottle cap pendants are all the rage these days and they are really easy to make. If you have decided to make your own bottle cap pendants, you have a couple of different options. You can choose to use new ones purchased by home brewing supply companies for a reasonable price or you can use used bottle caps. Choosing used bottle caps is a great way to recycle (or technically speaking-upcycle) and helps to prevent them from piling up in our landfills. If you are planning to use used bottle caps, there are just a few things you need to do to get those caps in order so that you can make them into great pendants. I have put together a little "how to" with some tried and true tips, showing you how to get used caps ready for pendant making. I wish I had found something like this before I started making pendants with used caps. Much of this stuff has been learned through trial and error on my part and I'm hoping to make the process a little bit easier for you.

What You Will Need

  • Used Bottle Caps like from beer bottles, coke bottles, etc..
  • Soap and water
  • Dremel and small drill bit
  • Spray Paint or Acrylic Paint (if your planning to paint it)
  • Spray Sealer
  • Acetone
  • Old toothbrush
  • Emory board or sandpaper (optional)


STEP1: Sand Logo and Clean The Caps

If you prefer  you can sand the logo off the cap first using an emory board or sand paper. Emory boards work great for this!  Then take the caps and soak them in soapy water or another cleaner if you prefer.. I sometimes use Simple Green- works great at getting gunky stuff off.. Take the old toothebrush and scrub all around the inside of the cap making sure you get it as clean as possible.

Rinse the caps and let them dry...


STEP 2: Take Seal Out Of Inside Of Cap

Put some acetone in each of the caps... covering the seal. After a couple hours it will soften and you can lift it out with a pair of tweezers or something like that.  A lot of people use heat to remove the seal but I find it doesn't work as well as acetone.


STEP 3: Drill A Hole

Take the dremel with the small drill bit and drill a hole in the side of the cap for your jump ring.

PS. The dremel is not a must have for this. You can use a hammer and nail to make the hole.. I just prefer to use the dremel because the outcome seems a little neater.

Step 4: Paint and Seal Cap

It's time to get your cap ready to paint!!

Take your caps and line them up. Here is a trick: I have a piece of metal sheet that I put magnets on and I stick the caps to the magnets and this is how I paint them. It's quick and easy and a good way to keep them all there together in one place.

I prefer spray paint... it seems to cover the best and the quickest but if you prefer you can use acrylic paints as well. Depending on the brand, you may need to put on a few coats in order to get good coverage.

After the paint is applied (and dry) and you are satisfied, line up the caps and spray a coat or two of sealer on. I use Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze by Krylon but any good sealer will do.


Now you have your used bottle caps ready to be made into pendants!! Please be sure to check out http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Make-Bottle-Cap-Pendants so that you can make your own gorgeous bottle cap pendants!!

Are you interested in making domino pendants? Visit my hub How To Make A Domino Pendant!



working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)