Removing smoke odor

[psychopanda]

I picked up a coin door and it (surprisingly) has a strong smoke odor. I've never really noticed that with metal parts before.

Does anyone have some suggestions on how to remove smoke odor from metal?

[gonzobrian]

The Myth Busters say spray Vodka on it.  And if it does not work you always have the vodka.   I would rinse the vodka off after a bit.  Otherwise you would just trade one bar odor for another.

[divemaster127]

usually just let it set in your garage for a while air will take care of a lot of it & spray it with a all purpose cleaner
dm

[Scott84]

Give it a nice new paint job 

[psychopanda]

Thanks guys, it's been sitting in the garage for about a week but no real change. I sprinkled sawdust over the top of the coin box (something I have an abundant supply of in the garage!) just to see if it will neutralize the odor somewhat.

If I find something that works, I'll post it here so that others can benefit too.

[thebrownshow]

You could always start smoking.  When I was a smoker, smoke odor never bothered me

[Nannuu]

Spray the inside with Lysol, that seems to work for me.  You will have to do this more than once to get rid of it.  Also re-painting the outside will have to be done.  Ive never tried to get rid of the smoke from the outside, always repainted.

[RickDIII]

The Myth Busters say spray Vodka on it.  And if it does not work you always have the vodka.   I would rinse the vodka off after a bit.  Otherwise you would just trade one bar odor for another.

Mythbusters rule! 

I saw that episode and the Vodka made a difference on clothing, not sure what it would do on a coin door. 

[Stingray]

Simple Green works really well. Sadly, I learned this after a house fire.

-S

[psychopanda]

You could always start smoking.  When I was a smoker, smoke odor never bothered me

I smoked for 10 years, and yes, when you are a smoker you never notice the smell. I like to think I was relatively clean in my smoking habits because I never smoked inside my home, but I'm guessing this coin door once lived in a bar where smoking was alot more frequent.

I could stand it myself, but it pretty much smells like an ashtray and my never-smoked-a-day-in-her-life wife isn't going to be too crazy about it.

[Tailgunner]

The smell is caused by a film of cigarette smoke stuck on the coin door's surface. Simple Green works good,  Greased Lightning works better. Wash it over a white sink, you'll be amazed what runs off.

I smoke, and every so often I tear my computer down and give it a bath to remove that film.

[SithMaster]

smoking is bad for me.

[j123vt_99]

The smell is caused by a film of cigarette smoke stuck on the coin door's surface. Simple Green works good,  Greased Lightning works better. Wash it over a white sink, you'll be amazed what runs off.

I smoke, and every so often I tear my computer down and give it a bath to remove that film.

won't washing it cause it to rust?

[psychopanda]

The smell is caused by a film of cigarette smoke stuck on the coin door's surface. Simple Green works good,  Greased Lightning works better. Wash it over a white sink, you'll be amazed what runs off.

I smoke, and every so often I tear my computer down and give it a bath to remove that film.

won't washing it cause it to rust?

Probably not, most of the door is painted pretty solid.

Well, so far I tried spraying a little Greased Lightning and wiping it off. I might try that again, but no luck so far.

Recently we sealed it in a plastic bag with a bowl of baking soda. But I opened the bag to remove the key locks yesterday and the smell doesn't seem to have changed any.

Still to try; Lysol and Simple Green. Painting probably isn't an option, since I don't want to mess up the paint (trust me, I mess up everything!).

[thebrownshow]

Painting probably isn't an option, since I don't want to mess up the paint (trust me, I mess up everything!).

http://retroblast.com/articles/coindoorrestore.html

[psychopanda]

Ok, so a couple of weeks sitting in a plastic bag with baking soda sure didn't work.

I finally got back to this and I decided to take apart the door and wash it down in case I need to repaint the whole thing. One of the black plastic frames outside the coin plunger broke, but I think its "super gluable". Just a note, be careful when removing them.

Well, I washed it all down and scrubbed with a cell-o pad using some dishwashing soap (scented with apple?) and wouldn't you know it?! Most of the smoke smell went away! As I was washing it, a yellowish film came off. I've scrubbed it and let it dry twice now and other than the plastic pieces, the odor is barely noticeable now. Which is nice. I might add one coat of black spray paint over the top just to make the door look a little newer and eliminate any odor remnants.

Anyways, that was my solution in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

[thebrownshow]

Thanks for posting your solution.  It's always great to see people do that.

[psychopanda]

Thanks for posting your solution.  It's always great to see people do that.

Yeah, not sure how many times I've stumbled upon a thread which posed several questions/solutions but then the person drops off the face of the Earth and I wonder...so what worked?!

My solution is pretty simple, but maybe others will try it before buying more expensive things?

[BamBam]

Lemon Juice is the bomb.

John

[jhanson]

As I found out when I bought my current house a few years back, diluted trisodium phosphate works great for removing smoke smell.  Wipe it on with a sponge, and watch the yellow tar drip off.  However, I probably wouldn't try it on a coin door, as I think it makes metal rust.  However, if you've got a wooden surface, like say an arcade cabinet, it would work wonders.

[gamecreature]

I bought some stuff over Ebay that came from a smoker - the stuff reaked. Believe it or not, Febreeze actually cleared it right up.

[Cameronj]

I have a Pacman that was totally smoky. I left it in the garage, but it only made the garage stink. I sprayed it liberally with Febreeze and left it over night. The next morning, the garage didn't smell anymore. I repeated this process for 3 nights (wiping off the residue from the night before) This worked awesome. I moved the unit into the house. After about 2 years I started to smell a little smoke again so I sprayed it once with febreeze and it has been good for a long time after. Hope this helps.

[rackoon]

I bought a used ps2 of a smoker on eBay and man the controler stunk. And every time I touched that controler my hands would stink. But I want my cooindoor to stink. I believe that it would give my rec room that authentic bar feel ( I mean smell).

As we speak i am sticking my coin door in a plastic bag full of cigars