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Man, I just got a car to be restored for a foreign Pan Car fan - Trinity EV10 again, unpacked the package and it smelt horrible. I have had the "smoker" Cars, but this one smells like it was left in some bad stew, then pulled out, and left in the attic to dry for 10 years. I wanted nothing more than to run to the local Car wash and use a pressure washer and the Foam brush to clean it! I will be putting on some surgical gloves to clean this one, I hope I get the smell out, it is so bad.

-Maurice

Yeah snagged some decent working condition cam motors a couple weeks ago, but they smelled like something died near them Motor spray helped a little bit in my case.

Maybe you could box the car/parts up with a fabric softner sheet or something so it smells spring fresh hehehe

sounds like it needs a good bath in simple green. That stuff seems to work well for cleanup and has a strong enough odor to cancel out some nasty stuff. Just don't use it on any aluminum, anodized or not.

jwscab wrote:sounds like it needs a good bath in simple green. That stuff seems to work well for cleanup and has a strong enough odor to cancel out some nasty stuff. Just don't use it on any aluminum, anodized or not.

+1 That is what I normally use on the Carbon stuff. I think I will used a bit of dawn on the rest The box should have came with a warning!

I've had luck with storing parts/cars in a bag with bounce dryer sheets to get rid of smoke smell or odd, musty smells. Works well. Leaving stuff outdoors on dry, sunny days also helps.
Got a parts lot last month that smelled like the mailman took a dump in the box. Seller claimed they had cats but wasn't expecting that. Must of kept the stuff in the litter box

I've seen a furnace installer use a spray on a spot of furnace oil that was on a concrete slab. It took the smell out immediately, unfortunately I never got the name of the product he used but wow, was it ever effective.

Mindwarp wrote:I've seen a furnace installer use a spray on a spot of furnace oil that was on a concrete slab. It took the smell out immediately, unfortunately I never got the name of the product he used but wow, was it ever effective.

Muriatic acid is used to clean concrete when prepping for coatings, paint, etc. It will removing anything from concrete but can't be used on any metallic item, will dissolve it.

I think we've all been there multiple times!

Theres some good ones in this thread like mine for instance: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=20251

i got a used black foot like that, it was so nasty. it had "fur" on it, rat droppings, mold, waste oil, ashes and god knows what else.

A box of cars I got this week was obviously left open in a damp basement for a long time. Smelled moldy and everything was fillthy/rusty. Got a new built Optima last year that sat on a smoker's shelves for 20 years. It stunk and was covered in smoke residue.

I've gotten slapped in the face with the smoke odor too. Got some parts on ebay that just reeked. The whole house smelled so I stuck them out in the garage. Then the garage started to stink so I put them out in the shed. I think I wound up soaking them in something to make them "used usable."

Baking soda really does work great for absorbing odors, it's not just a myth created by Arm & Hammer. It's cheap as hell too. You can buy enough to completely bury an entire car for $1.

On a slightly related note (and to pass a few moments in a long boring day) charcoal works well for bigger jobs. I used it in my basement after some kind of critter apparently died in there. Where I live my basement is an easy target for mice or other small animals no matter what I do. Especially in Winter. They can't access the rest of the house luckily. I filled a 5gal bucket with charcoal and the smell was gone in a couple of days. I'm still waiting for the day that the skeleton falls on my head or something and I scream like a 9 year old girl.

THEYTOOKMYTHUMB wrote:I'm still waiting for the day that the skeleton falls on my head or something and I scream like a 9 year old girl.

Now THERE'S a post I'm looking forward to!

yep! every car that come's from overseas has has strong stench, i always assumed it was from the cargo hold and all the courier's who smoke in there van's. baking soda does do a good job there is some in my fridge

I bought a used, modern car (xray) a few months ago, good deal, barely run, sold by one of his friends for a well know racer who just passed away... Came with a Pit Towel. you have no idea how bad the smoke smell was. The towel went straight to the (outside) trash can. The car still smells of cold tobacco.

The previous owner died of cancer... No kiddin'...

Paul