I just got a Kawanishi Flying Boat “Emily” from e-bay and the kit is beautiful but man, it stinks up to high heaven! Is there any way to remove tobacco smell from plastic without ruining it?
For now the kit is outside on the patio table. I live in Arizona, you see, but I will have to get rid of the smell before the summer heat melts the plastic[%-)]…What to do?
Borislav
Wash the plastic with liquid dish soap, photocopy the instructions and trash the originals and the box. The paper will absorb the odors and there is nothing you can do about it.
This isn’t really worth the trouble just to save a set of kit instructions, but if anyone has some books or rags (magazines) that they’d like to keep which have a funky odor, you can bury them in a shallow pan filled with, of all things, fresh kitty litter.
My Dad collected alotta old racing rags from the 60’s back and would use this method to get rid of the musty smell. Worked like a charm.
Fade to Black…
I have heard that coffee grounds will take the smell out of just about anything.A friend of mine did alot of trucking.After he would haul packaged chicken or pork,his trailer would reek.He said he would go out and buy cheap coffee grounds and sprincle them all over the floor.After a day or so he would sweep it out.Said it was the only thing that would pull the smell out of the floor.As far as the plastic,a good soak in soapy water should take care of it.I like to use Mr Clean to get any oils and residue off my kits before painting.
It seems fresh newspapers work also. The printers ink absorbs odors! I’ve done this trick with my Igloo ice chests. I cleaned up a Manfacturers F4U model for a heavy smoker that was almost brown with residue from sitting high on a shelf for 30 years. I used Brasso to clean it up. I had planned on painting it but the Brasso did such a good job restoring the finish I just repainted the false canopy and put new decals on it. I wish I had taken a picture of it. My neighbor has since moved.
Baking soda or toothpaste would likely work too. Or chocolate it absorbs 50x better than bakin soda. Maybe you should just each some while you wait.