Cleaning cigarette smoke smell / damage from statue

[Vince]

I recently purcahsed a statue which smells heavily to smoke.
The white colour of the statue is not white anymore, but slightly brown.

So it has been in a smokers house (the seller didn't mention it and PayPal wants me to send it back at my own cost, which I don't want to because I will loose money, because the seller lied).

Anyway, does anybody know if you can clean the statue without damaging the paintjob ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated !

 

[El Skutto]

Oh man, that won't be easy. Cigarette stains come primarily from the tar, and that stuff's difficult to remove from pretty much any surface.

For the statue itself, you can probably use some kind of cleaning solution like Windex, but I'd try it out on a very small area first...just in case. It works great for removing tar stains on windows, so here's hoping it does the same on polyresin without damaging the statue itself.

For the cloth outfit, your options are even more limited. If you could somehow remove the outfit from the statue, then I'd recommend a wash in the gentle cycle with some bleach (or bleach-free whitener). But since most PF outfits are impossible to remove, I'd recommend trying those little Tide stainsticks on a small area and see if it makes any difference.

 

[Vince]

Thanks for the help !!

I'll give it a try...

Luckily it's not a PF, it's a solid resin statue, so I only need to clean the statue ...

Any others have had any experiences ?

 

[Valfar]

If i were you, i would take three weeks worth of dumps in the box that i would be shipping this back to the seller in.

Thats really horrible, i hope you can get it cleaned up good.

 

[316what]

Try vinegar diluted with water....but test it on something else first. The vinegar will break down the tar and smell.

 

[chris rankin]

Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with water might help. It is good for getting rid of bad odors and its also good on stains. You might want to test it first. Try this link

https://www.thegreenstoreonline.co.uk/default.aspx/Page/118

 

[galactiboy]

One method I've heard for removing the smell is to place the item in a sealed bag with some dryer sheets. I guess they will absorb the odor after a few days.

And are you sure the yellowing is smoke and not sun damage? If sun damage I think you would be out of luck.

 

[Bullet]

Im a smoker and i cant understand why people smoke around their collectibles! I do not smoke in my flat only outside so none of my collection even remotely smells of smoke and its really not that difficult to achieve. Why spends thousands of pounds on items only to damage there apperance and value through something as trivial as smoke.

Good luck with cleaning it up since I dont collect statues I dont really have much advice to offer however windex sounds like a good shout.

 

[V!C]

Bleach and a Brillo pad...

 

[RJMacReady16]

Start smoking.

 

[Vince]

Thanks for all the tips guys !

 

[Maglor]

If i were you, i would take three weeks worth of dumps in the box that i would be shipping this back to the seller in.

Thats really horrible, i hope you can get it cleaned up good.

I can actually see you doing that Val!

 

[Mollins]

I don't smoke around my collectibles, I just don't get why someone would, but I wouldn't go so far as to say the guy lied.

He just didn't say it was coming from a smoking home. =/

 

[The Craw]

i just don't get why people smoke at all. what's the point? and smoking outside doesn't completely help. you come back in and your clothes, hair, and fingers reek. i lived with roommates who smoked outside for years. i didn't notice anything at the time, but when i moved, i noticed i could smell faint smoke on my stuff and nobody ever smoked inside. anyway hope things work out for you. personally i wouldn't accept that piece. you'll never be able to clean it up 100% and you'll always be reminded of this fiasco whenever you look at it.

 

[Vince]

personally i wouldn't accept that piece. you'll never be able to clean it up 100% and you'll always be reminded of this fiasco whenever you look at it.

I failed a complaint, but PayPAl will only refund if I ship abck and pay the shipping myself, so then I loose a lot of money on shipping for nothing ...

 

[Mollins]

Vince, if he refunds you through paypal he can ONLY refund what you paid, due to the way that the paypal refund system works.

 

[Bezzerkerr]

In all seriousness i heard the tooth paste, warm water and a soft bristled brush can take the stains out.

I've seen a lobo statue supposed to be white but yellow-ish, turn white as snow with this technique.

The problem is finding the correct brand. No flavor crystals or any of that crap.

 

[Reinhardt]

Sorry to hear that. I hear vinegar works, but then you have to get rid of that smell ofcourse.

 

[Valfar]

Maybe Arm and Hammer toothpaste would work?.

 

[xr6.turbo]

What about Smokers Toothpaste