de-smelling old camera's

[Disaster_Area]

anyone have any tips on getting the smell of smoke/musk/oldcamerasmell out of older camera's. I picked up a Rolliecord in great shape but its got old camera smell.. and maybe a hint of smoke. Any of you have tried and true methods for de-funkifying a camera.. its not really that bad of a smell.. but its enough that I notice it when I'm bending over the focusing screen.

[dazedgonebye]

I don't guess I'd care for smoke, but just today, having received a "new" old camera, I just sat for a moment and enjoyed the familiar smell.
It's sort of an olfactory version of "comfort food."

[OldNick]

You might seal it in a bag with a vented box of baking soda. Soda is good at absorbing smells.

Jim N.

[foggie]

vinegar is great at removing smells. Maybe you want to give your camera vinegar sponge bath if you don't think it's too harsh on the finish. You could even leave the camera next to a small bowl of it overnight. I do it to remove smells from closets and cupboards.

[cole]

You will need two wings of a bat, 75 grams of finely grated herring, one boiled newt, and a jar of Cheez Wiz. Combine the ingredients, soak the camera in the mixture, and perform a two-hour chant over the whole mess of it while playing Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' backwards. Works like a charm.

In all seriousness, though, I'd love to know if anyone has any tricks for this as well. I've never been a fan of 'old camera smell.'

[sakebalboa]

i know with my leica the smell was the vulcanite, was a smoky, rubber cement kind of funk. anyway the vulcanite cracked and i replaced it with some leatherette and the smell is gone now, not even a trace. i kind of miss it.

[bmattock]

Bring on the funk. We want the funk. Oh, we need the funk. Gotta have the funk.

[literiter]

Originally Posted by Disaster_Area

anyone have any tips on getting the smell of smoke/musk/oldcamerasmell out of older camera's. I picked up a Rolliecord in great shape but its got old camera smell.. and maybe a hint of smoke. Any of you have tried and true methods for de-funkifying a camera.. its not really that bad of a smell.. but its enough that I notice it when I'm bending over the focusing screen.

This will work:

For the leather- dampen with hydrogen peroxide, this kills mold. When it is dry rub a bit of black, or clear shoe polish on the leather. I've used a product called "Tana" which is a "shoe cream"

For the metal-wipe exterior with a cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol, this will remove any nicotine residue.

This will sound odd but try this as well after the above. Wrap the camera carefully in a clean cotton cloth. Place wrapped camera in a plastic bag filled with about two tablespoons of fresh ground coffee. Leave it for a day or so.

[lewis44]

www.cameraleather.com

[cole]

Literiter - nice idea on the coffee ground. Isn't that burned at crime scenes to take away the smell? Or have I just been watching too many movies?

[literiter]

Originally Posted by cole

Literiter - nice idea on the coffee ground. Isn't that burned at crime scenes to take away the smell? Or have I just been watching too many movies?

I'm not sure about crime scenes but coffee smells better than mold and shoe polish in my opinion.

nikonhswebmaster's idea of the leather conditioner is a good one. The "Tana" brand that we have available is more of a conditioner than really a polish. I doesn't shine.

Keeping the aged look of the leather may be preferable, that is why I also mentioned the clear polish.

[Disaster_Area]

I'll try the coffee grounds tonight (as its the only one of the above ingredients I have on me) And I think I'll definatly be getting it recovered a la cameraleather.com.. now what colour... my head says Levant or Black Beauty leather.. but my heart wants to scream RED SNAKE SKIN!!!!... or maybe black lizard.

[Bryce]

Someone I know used to work for Servicemaster, a company that specializes in recovery of buildings and property after disasters like fire or flooding.
They had what was called the "ozone room" and would put stinky things in there. Worked very effectively to remove odors generally and specifically smokey smells.
Maybe getting ahold of a similar company and leaving the offending camera in their care for a day or three?

[dazedgonebye]

Originally Posted by bmattock

Bring on the funk. We want the funk. Oh, we need the funk. Gotta have the funk.

I never figured you for a George Clinton fan.

[TheHub]

Good suggestions, I'll try the baking powder (I hate coffee.) I've got an M3 that smells like smoke and an XA that smells like old medicine for some reason

For the most part though, I like old camera smell. It gives it character and helps me concentrate.

[Ken Ford]

Think outside the box!

[Spider67]

I second the idea using vinegar.....on the other side mold might produce hallucinogenic effects.....

[OldNick]

Originally Posted by TheHub

Good suggestions, I'll try the baking powder (I hate coffee.) I've got an M3 that smells like smoke and an XA that smells like old medicine for some reason

For the most part though, I like old camera smell. It gives it character and helps me concentrate.

The suggestion was to use BAKING SODA, not baking powder.

Jim N.

[D.O'K.]

I'll second the sunlight and ventilation method: a few days of (breezy) fresh air worked wonders with a couple of pungent old cameras and cases I acquired.

(Just remember to protect them from the rain...)

D.O'K.

[sienarot]

Originally Posted by bmattock

Bring on the funk. We want the funk. Oh, we need the funk. Gotta have the funk.

Haha, jeez, I almost spit up my drink when I read this

[btgc]

I can second baking soda, and mention papers - which I read here on RFF. After receiving my first SLR it appeared to be owned by smoker, very hard smoker. I wrapped camera in papers and changed them each 12 hours. Can't say for sure how many cycles I went through, but now it's OK. Air baths shooting outdoors after wrapping seem to help too.
As for "old camera smell", my Lynx 5000 has that and makes me emotional about this camera, alongside with how it operates.

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by Spider67

I second the idea using vinegar.....on the other side mold might produce hallucinogenic effects.....

Not unless it is ergot.

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by Disaster_Area

anyone have any tips on getting the smell of smoke/musk/oldcamerasmell out of older camera's. I picked up a Rolliecord in great shape but its got old camera smell.. and maybe a hint of smoke. Any of you have tried and true methods for de-funkifying a camera.. its not really that bad of a smell.. but its enough that I notice it when I'm bending over the focusing screen.

Dabbing it with hydrogen peroxide will kill the mold and cut the smell a lot. I know, since I just bought a monorail view camera that came with a fabric-lined case that had really severe mold and mildew problems. It could stink up a whole room in mere seconds, and that's no exaggeration. It reeked. However, it won't get rid of the smell entirely (because there will still be some now-thoroughly-dead mold trapped in the leather), and it won't do anything about the smoky smell. I used a whole quart of HP in that case, and I can still smell it, but now I have to stick my head in there to do so. A good wipe down with denatured alcohol will get rid of most of the smoke smell, assuming you are talking about cigarette smoke. The tobacco smoke smell is due to tar deposited on the camera and alcohol is a good solvent for that.

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by Disaster_Area

I'll try the coffee grounds tonight (as its the only one of the above ingredients I have on me) And I think I'll definatly be getting it recovered a la cameraleather.com.. now what colour... my head says Levant or Black Beauty leather.. but my heart wants to scream RED SNAKE SKIN!!!!... or maybe black lizard.

I wouldn't go with the snake skin, in any color. It is delicate and will start looking ragged in a year or two (yeah, I tried it) and, although it makes great photos, it doesn't look that good to start off with when you're looking at it in person. The lizard is much better if you are going to go exotic. I can vouch for the Black Beauty and Levant being good for cameras, athough I get mine from a different source and cut and glue it myself.

[Disaster_Area]

Thanks for the tip about the snake skin.. I was kinda worried about what the durability would be like.