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Welcome to my website. I hope you find it informative and helpful.

My name is Steve Hochhalter.  I have been cleaning and polishing antique/collectible glass items and bottles - removing cloudiness, hardwater mineralization stains, etching and scratches - for over 12 years.

I got my start in the early 1990's as an antique bottle digger.  I had all of these dirty bottles that simple washing with soap and water was not helping.  They were heavily etched and stained from being in the ground for as long as a hundred years.  Since I wanted the true color and beauty of these bottles to come out for display I decided to build my own bottle cleaning machine.

The machine is based on the rock tumbling principal but uses cleaning materials and processes specific to the product being cleaned - glass.  Rocks tumble inside a container but the bottles are mounted so they turn with the container and the cleaning materials move around them.  Early on I experimented on my own bottles with various motor speeds and cleaning mediums until I learned what works and what didn't.  The results were stunning!

After cleaning the glass had no cloudiness or stains.  Light scratches were gone and the etching was removed.  Both the inside and outside of the glass looked great.  Some bottles cleaned up so well they looked as if they were just made yesterday.  During the polishing process I was always aware and careful not to over polish or remove the character of the item.

I now clean and polish glass for others as well. I work with antique glass dealers and private collectors across the United States and in Canada. Over the years I have modified my equipment and techniques to match the growth of my business and improve the quality of the finished product.  I can assure my customers that they are getting a state of the art cleaning and polishing.

I am able to clean and polish glass items of various shapes and sizes. Please click on the links below to see more information.

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