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De-Smoking My New Hasselblad

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A few years ago I sent my 500 c/m to Hasselblad guru David Odess for service. It came back a few weeks later in fine condition with the addition of strong cigarette smoke odor. Took awhile to air out.
 
Amazing how strong the odors can be. Most of your nicotine resin is most likely on the outside. A good going over with alcohol wipes helps. When I worked on smoker customer cameras I jsut wanted to get the out of my shop as fast as I could. I also stored them in zip loc bags because it jsut stinks up the place.

I haven't deodorized any but I remember someone once posted something here about a chemical you can buy to deodorize almost anything. Perhaps a search may find it?
 
FerruB said:
I think that To remove odors from car dealers use an ozone generator, it may well work for your camera as well!
Cheers
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I have a room air clean, HEPA, with an ion generator option, I just perch stuff with "the stinks" on top of the outlet for a few days. Something with a leatherette coating I would clean with a tiny bit of saddle soap.
 
Something to keep in mind when trying to clean things while using baking soda: It is an abrasive!

Be careful where it gets to, as it is not a friendly substance to clockwork or glass.
 
mgb74 said:
Check with an auto detailer. They often have a device to removing the odor from inside vehicles.
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Removing the odor will not remove the brown residue left from the smoke. The residue might also be the source of some of the smell. Good luck and please let us know your results. This could be a problem with used enlargers and other darkroom equipment. When I bought my Omega DII, I actually had to disassemble the "tracks" and use steel wool to get the brown crud off. The previous owner was a "chain-smoker" and yes he DID smoke in the darkroom. Every "bright" part, including some lenses, were coated with that brown "tar". I'll bet his lungs were too. He died about thirty years ago, just a few years after I bought my stuff from him.........Regards!
 
Another vote for ozone generator. Works for smoke stink cars.
 
Leave it in a room with an Ozone generator? Like they do to remove smoke smell from cars or houses. I never personally tried it, it’s just an idea.

Regards
 
Someone mentioned baby wipes before. I find them rather effective at removing dirt/film of many types. That would be my first try at eradicating the tar film. They are very mild. Some smell like baby powder and some are scent less.
 
BrianShaw said:
Someone mentioned baby wipes before. I find them rather effective at removing dirt/film of many types. That would be my first try at eradicating the tar film. They are very mild. Some smell like baby powder and some are scent less.
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I'm sorry but I just can't help it. Are the baby wipes used before or after wiping the baby? I apologize!........Regards!
 
Let it sit out to get oxygen. Slowly, the chemicals that create the odor will oxidize and otherwise degrade. Warm temperatures along with humidity might help with microbic breakdown of smoke chemicals. Maybe clean the outside surfaces with alcohol or appropriate cleaner. I would be looking closely at the lens surfaces to see if they have been in some way affected by the smoke. Cleaning a lens surface can be a challenge - perhaps best done by a professional - depending on lens coatings.
 
The only good news in all of this is that with a waist finder at least I am not holding it up to my nose. I put it away with some baking soda while I read the manuals and deal with another camera issue. I'll be getting back to it in a couple days to try some active cleaning ideas.
 
ReginaldSMith said:
The only good news in all of this is that with a waist finder at least I am not holding it up to my nose. I put it away with some baking soda while I read the manuals and deal with another camera issue. I'll be getting back to it in a couple days to try some active cleaning ideas.
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You will be putting it up to your face, especially when using the magnifying lens. That stink needs to go!
 
Well that is a bummer but I bet most of the odor is clinging to the leatherette. If you are stuck and still can’t seem to get rid of it you can order a new set of leatherette from Cameraleather.
 
Indeed, I might commit sacrilege by re-leathering it in "Coral" from cameraleather, if the stink won't come out. :smile:
Thanks for that link Ai, I once re-leathered a bunch of Canon QLs with leather sold on Ebay. They came out really sharp. Not a bad idea.
 
FWIW - I got a hasselblad lens in from EBay that stunk to high heaven. On the upside - it is from volatile substance so it does fade. I used some kind of mix with baking soda (maybe vinegar in a dilute solution) and it solved a lot of the problem. Then nature simply took its course and within days it was fine.

edit - no that doesn't make sense. don't mix vinegar and baking soda unless you are having fun. i used either baking soda or vinegar - don't remember which
 
Another vote for the ozone generator.
I just bought one at a thrift store, marked down to $5.
Plugged it in, sniffed the output for the telltale scent that it was working and snapped it up.
 
Let me understand the ozone generator:

So, a thing (camera) is offgassing some odorous molecules. I assume the O.G. is simply nullifying the escaping molecules, and it is not "attacking" the nicotine on the surface,right?
 
Ozone is definitely more effective with volatile compounds. However if you remove the volatile nicotine at high rate you will prompt off-gassing (Chatelier's principle), as a result "bounded" nicotine will drop at a similar high rate. I guess this should be the process behind ozone and bad odors...
 
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