diff --git a/lib/aws/s3/connection.rb b/lib/aws/s3/connection.rb
index 85dee2d..b771c60 100644
--- a/lib/aws/s3/connection.rb
+++ b/lib/aws/s3/connection.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ def prepare_path(path)
           path = path.remove_extended unless path.valid_utf8?
 
           # Escape square brackets and single quotes
-          URI.escape(path).gsub(/[\[\]']/) { |m| "%%%02x" % m[0] }
+          URI.escape(path).gsub(/[\[\]']/) { |m| "%%%02x" % m[0].ord }
         end
       end
       
@@ -277,4 +277,4 @@ def validate(options)
       end
     end
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end