How do I get the cigarette smell out?

[winteriscoming]

I had read somewhere that coffee grounds can help. I threw some in yesterday with the baking soda and now it seems to smell more like coffee.

I had some larger plastic pieces (not cigarette smelling) that I wanted to clean, too, so I went ahead and threw them and the shifter in the dishwasher on the top rack. We'll see what happens.

I've got some vinegar and simple green on hand if this doesn't work.

This is the first time I've ever received anything that smelled like cigarettes. It never really occurred to me that this is something I need to consider and maybe ask about before buying. The 3 items I've received from YAJ haven't had this issue.

 

[defor]

I've bought a number of Sony PSX over the years (PSX the DVR PS2, not Playstation 1) that were clogged with cigarette residue and crud... it's crazy how much those things inhale smoke...

Anyway, yeah it's definitely hit or miss, but I hear the cultural stigmas surrounding smoking are less prominent (I can't really speak to this) and as a result, this isn't uncommon. I'd say, amazing you hadn't run into it before - at least from my experience.

 

[twistedsymphony]

This is the first time I've ever received anything that smelled like cigarettes

I find the stuff I buy is either hospital clean or caked with the nastiest cigarette dust imaginable with no middle ground.

The Chihiro I bought, while non-functional looked (and smelled) brand new, meanwhile both Lindys I've imported I swear were going to give me black lung just sitting in the same room as me.

 

[winteriscoming]

For the record, the shifter in question came from a US seller on eBay. Out of hundreds of (not just arcade/pinball) purchases on eBay for over a decade, this is the first time I've had a smokey item from within the US. It has never even crossed my mind that I could be A. purchasing from a smoker, B. purchasing an item previously owned by a smoker, or C. purchasing an item previously in a smoke-filled bar.

If I didn't really need the shifter and had I paid much more than I did, it would be getting shipped back on the grounds that the listing wasn't accurate.

I'm not trying to come across as a jerk, here. I'm just pretty sensitive to the smell and having recently had a baby, wanting to avoid exposing her to any 2nd or 3rd hand smoke. If you want to smoke, feel free, but at least do me the courtesy of informing me so that I can factor that into my decision to purchase.

 

[Derick2k]

meanwhile both Lindys I've imported I swear were going to give me black lung just sitting in the same room as me.

Man, out of 5 Lindys only 1 came without reeking of cigarettes, the others you could smell them through the boxes and packaging. So replaced all fans, and took them apart to clean/wash everything else with simple green.

 

[Milspex]

It took me a week to completely clean the Super Neo 29 I got. It was disgusting.

 

[winteriscoming]

The worst offender on this shifter is the handle. It's some kind of molded rubber and I guess the smell permeated it. Everything else is mostly made of metal (i.e. non-porous) and smells good now. I left the handle submerged in a water/vinegar/simple green mix over night and dried it off earlier. I think that may have taken care of it, but I'll take a smell after its aired out more.

 

[bagheera369]

It took me a week to completely clean the Super Neo 29 I got. It was disgusting.

My friend and I refer to it as "Having to scrub the Asia outta the thing..."


It's had to happen for every single candy we've had, and between the two of us, we have 12 or so. There's an orange degreaser we get from the dollar store that seems to cut through it pretty well, and not do any damage to plastics or painted metal. It takes forever to scrub though.

 

[winteriscoming]

I'm a little concerned that the smell isn't gone from the grip... I can smell the smoke on my hand after holding it for only a couple seconds.

I wish I could figure out how to get the retaining clip off of the shaft because then I could remove the grip/shaft and deal with that part separately. It's the kind of retention clip with 2 holes that is intended to be opened with a dedicated tool. I haven't had success prying at it with sharp objects... this is the kind of thing that always results in some kind of hand injury for me.

Edit: I pried the ring off, so now have the grip/shaft separated. It's going to undergo some harsher cleaning now.

 

[twistedsymphony]

It's the kind of retention clip with 2 holes that is intended to be opened with a dedicated tool

what you need are snap ring plyers

 

[winteriscoming]

It's the kind of retention clip with 2 holes that is intended to be opened with a dedicated tool

what you need are snap ring plyers

Yes, this is the tool I need for this one purpose in my life!

I did manage to pry the ring off, but I refuse to buy tools dedicated to this one shifter. If I spend too much time/money just on this crap purchase, I'd have been better off buying one of the $100 ones on eBay that presumably don't stink.

 

[twistedsymphony]

for future reference you might be able to rent one for free at your local auto parts store.

Autozone and similar stores offer tool rentals and a lot of the cheaper tools have free rentals, so you give them a $10 deposit and you get your $10 back when you return the tool.

heck if you brought it there they might just let you use the thing while you're standing there and then give it back to them without any transaction at all.

 

[freddiefiasco]

It's the kind of retention clip with 2 holes that is intended to be opened with a dedicated tool

what you need are snap ring plyers

Yes, this is the tool I need for this one purpose in my life!
I did manage to pry the ring off, but I refuse to buy tools dedicated to this one shifter. If I spend too much time/money just on this crap purchase, I'd have been better off buying one of the $100 ones on eBay that presumably don't stink.

I found this tool to be useful in many other aspects of home electronics repair (oscillating tower fans and shifter cleaning). You can even find them at a local flea market for about $1-3. I got mine for $1.50 at an open air mall in a rusty bin. I have since upgraded to this one because I lost the spring to my first one.

 

[winteriscoming]

It's the kind of retention clip with 2 holes that is intended to be opened with a dedicated tool

what you need are snap ring plyers

Yes, this is the tool I need for this one purpose in my life! I did manage to pry the ring off, but I refuse to buy tools dedicated to this one shifter. If I spend too much time/money just on this crap purchase, I'd have been better off buying one of the $100 ones on eBay that presumably don't stink.

I found this tool to be useful in many other aspects of home electronics repair (oscillating tower fans and shifter cleaning). You can even find them at a local flea market for about $1-3. I got mine for $1.50 at an open air mall in a rusty bin. I have since upgraded to this one because I lost the spring to my first one.

Sold!

I also went ahead and ordered a cheapish new shifter lever I found that looks to be a similar type with a slightly smaller plastic shift knob from a Final Lap. Hopefully it fits correctly in the ID3/OR2 shifter housing.

 

[winteriscoming]

Well, the Final Lap shift lever/knob does NOT fit in the OR2/ID shifter... So that's 10 extra bucks thrown at this garbage, waste-of-my-time purchase.

For now the original shifter is bathing in almost pure Simple Green and may very well be doing so for weeks before I check it again. Worst-case scenario is that I cut/melt/burn the rubber grip off of it and make something else that will fit by either threading the shaft or gluing something else on.

 

[Omni11]

I get these containers of odor absorbing gel balls from walmart that I put inside cabs when I buy them. Takes all the funk out when I leave em in there until they dry out.
Not sure if it'll help but might be able to drop that rubber knob into one, or pour it all into a ziplock bag. They have a pretty strong sent though, so it might end up being overwhelmingly spring rain fresh instead of nicotine.

 

[mattsoft]

step 1: clean your cab or parts.

step 2: 1 can of ozium (https://www.amazon.com/Ozium-804282...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=29GJWMT5T4FHRX1YE1TX) placed in your cab does the trick. or put your parts in a box with the ozium -- keep the box closed. keep it there until it turns hard then throw it out.

step3: take a deep breath, your cab or parts smell like new (or least not smoke).

works like magic!

 

[winteriscoming]

step 1: clean your cab or parts.

step 2: 1 can of ozium (https://www.amazon.com/Ozium-804282...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=29GJWMT5T4FHRX1YE1TX) placed in your cab does the trick. or put your parts in a box with the ozium -- keep the box closed. keep it there until it turns hard then throw it out.

step3: take a deep breath, your cab or parts smell like new (or least not smoke).

works like magic!

That's cheap enough that I'll likely give it a try.

 

[Omni11]

step 1: clean your cab or parts.

step 2: 1 can of ozium (https://www.amazon.com/Ozium-804282...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=29GJWMT5T4FHRX1YE1TX) placed in your cab does the trick. or put your parts in a box with the ozium -- keep the box closed. keep it there until it turns hard then throw it out.

step3: take a deep breath, your cab or parts smell like new (or least not smoke).

works like magic!

Right on, this is what I was thinking of. I think it's around $3 in stores.

 

[Asayuki]

Curiously, the exact same product on amazon germany seems to cost around five time as much (Link here)
Other "smoke odour remover" products do rather cost around 8-9 € as they should.
Thanks for sharing the tip, it might come useful in the future.