This should be so easy but I'm not having any luck. I need a can the size of a soda or can of soup. Easy enough. But I have to be able to make it look old, e.g. no pop top. I can put on a soup or bean label but I've looked in stores and on-line. There may be some on the big online store, but I don't want to pay a lot and most of what I find is magnets, posters, etc.

Not quite sure if I understand correctly, but if it's a retro label you want, try searching

vintage food label

in Google and as an image search. Use the Image Search Tools to specify a large image. This should turn up some results that are printable. Then you can save the image and print it yourself.

Here's an example:

http://olddesignshop.com/wp-content/uplo......abel.jpg

Hope this helps

Thanks, Lin! Actually, it is the can itself, not the label. I know that should be easy. Just not finding. I have some label jpegs but that search should get me the perfect one.

Maybe try searching for a joke can of "dehydrated water"?

No, got it-- buy a cheap can of clear soup broth, remove the label, drill a couple of small holes, and empty the contents. Might be easier to use a dremel/rotary tool with a cutting disk or a hacksaw to make a small slot in the side. Rinse as well as possible, dry and affix your new label.

Or take an empty pop-top can and epoxy a cut-to-fit top from a standard can onto the ledge from the pop top.

Go to the discount grocery stores, Save-a-Lot, Wal-Mart, etc. and get generic brand soups. None are made with pop-tops. I think your wife just likes the pop-top. Don't send her to the store, do it yourself. You will not find anything in soda cans, they all are pop-top. Not much good anyways as they are made form micro thin walled material. They stopped putting soda pop in steel cans back in the 1960's. The rust did not tasted to great. LOL

Still not luck, just get a can of vegetables and put a different label on them. Still made of steel and some are painted white inside.

If all you can find are pop top cans, you must live in a very small town. LOL! There are plenty of vegetable and fruit cans that have tops and bottoms that are identical and need can openers to open them. Just re-label one of them. Since we don't understand your intended use, it's hard to point you in the right direction. If all you can find are pop tops, just turn the can upside down, re-label, and avoid flashing the bottom.

Does the can need to be full or can it be empty?

It can be full or empty. The trouble with pop top cans is the bottom is funky. As Bill suggested, I'll try discount stores.

Found a larger tomato paste can that works perfectly. Thanks for all your help.