Cigarette Smoke and Vintage Polks

bert26

I have a chance to pick up a couple of pairs of vintage Polks for what I believe is a mutually beneficial price.

The problem is that I am pretty certain they will smell of cigarette smoke.

Has anyone successfully rid their speakers of this smell?
Any suggestions on how to accomplish it?

I did search and saw some ideas, but the threads stopped short of disclosing the success/failure of the attempt.

Thanks in advance!

Chris

Ricardo

feebreze; have not tried it in speakers fabric, but should work; there's also a number of sprays out there to eliminate odors from cars upholstery. If nothing works, you can start smoking

bert26

Hey HT - I KNEW someone wong suggest I take up the habit myself!

I have tried Fabreze with mixed results on the foam plugs for my sub. It helped a bit but there is still a fair amount of smell.

I have read that 409 may do the trick, but I am worried about the affect on the cabinets not to mention the drivers.

Maybe I'll swing by the local auto parts place and see if they have anything.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Cheers!
Chris

DarqueKnight

The oily film left by cigarette smoke should be easy to remove from the cabinets with regular household cleaning solvents. The drivers should also be easy to clean if they are plastic or coated paper. As for the grille cloths, they are going to have to be removed from the grille frames and either washed, dry cleaned, or replaced.

If the speakers are a ported design, you may have to remove the drivers, stuffing materials and crossovers in order to clean the inside of the cabinets.

bert26

Hey Raife -

I am looking at Monitor 7 and 10's - so I shouldn't have to be concerned about the port issue... I'm just glad to hear that it can be removed with a little patience and elbow grease.

Glad you chimed in as I wanted ask you a question:

Is the Compendium available as a PDF?

Thanks again!

C-

DarqueKnight

Chris,

The Compendium is not available in PDF format. Although, there was some discussion several years ago by someone else regarding scanning all of the SDA schematics and specifications (which are available free from Polk CS) into PDF format and posting them on the forum. I don't know what became of that effort. It would be a nice weekend (or two) project for someone.

dkg999

As stated previously, common household cleaners will clean off the smoke residue. I have had good luck with citrous based (orange oil) cleaners, they also seem to provide some oil that helps renew the vinyl or wood veneer.

For speakers that really stink, I have had good luck buying 20lb bags of charcoal at Sam's Club, then sticking a speaker in a big garbage sack with a bag of charcoal and leaving it for a week or so. The charcoal will absorb all the nasty odors.

Refefer

Charcoal, no kidding. Similar to the way baking soda absorbs the odors from a fridge?

bert26

Charcoal, who'da thunk it?!

If I buy these and try I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Raife - are there any sort of copyright issues with the compendium and the associated Polk schematics? You never know what I might do on the weekend!

C-

schwarcw

Despite popular belief, and disinformation from Arm and Hammer. Baking Soda will not absorb oders. Use mild cleaning solutions, the best way. Or displace the oder with another oder. Try putting some ground coffee (inside a can of course) inside the speaker cabinet. The coffee oder will diffuse into the pores of the wood effectively masking the cigarette smoke. I learned this from a used appliance store manager. Refrigerators and freezers get awful smells from food. Once they are turned off, the smell can be almost unbearable. The foam insulation in the refrigerator absorbs the food oders over the months and years, leaving an awful smell when at room temperature. I put a can of fresh ground coffee into the refrigerator and let it run for 10 days. No unpleasant smell remained.

Let me say this again, baking soda will not displace the oder in a refrigerator, speaker or any other container.

bert26

Hey Carl -

So I can throw out those damn boxes of A&H in the fridge/freezer?! Boy, if what you are saying is true, that ad campaign is some of the most widely believed propaganda EVER!

Chris

schwarcw

bert26 wrote:

Hey Carl -

So I can throw out those damn boxes of A&H in the fridge/freezer?! Boy, if what you are saying is true, that ad campaign is some of the most widely believed propaganda EVER!

Chris

Oh yeah Chris it is a marketing gimmick! Trust your fellow alumnus with a Chem. E. degree. Charcoal on the other hand will work if you can get the oder airborne. Cigarette tar becomes imbedded in the wood. Not easily airborne. That why washing with Pine-sol, Mr. Clean, Murphy's, etc. is the best approach. If the smell remains, try the coffee. Get the cheap beans (after all your not going to dring this stuff), grind them and put them in a small dish in the bottom of the speaker. A plate would work too. Think surface area.

You could try charcoal filters in your fridge. Or, think of it as a placebo for your wife. The **** is cheap.

Carl

bert26

Chem E - Very impressive! I know you won't steer me wrong.

Not sure I'll be able to fit a 20# bag of Kingsford in the old 'fridge though!

How 'bout them Stillers last week end! I LOVE it when Cinci loses.

schwarcw

Hi Chris!

They do sell charcoal in pint or quart size perforated containers. Similiar to the water filter under the sink. I still say put a bowl of fresh ground coffee in there once a week. Get the flavor scented coffee if you want to have a "designer scent":rolleyes:

I thought the Stillers were going to blow that game Sunday to the Bungles. Willie fumbled the ball in the end zone I almost puked. The TD pass in OT was a thriller to watch eh?

Shame of it is, if Pittsburgh had just won one of those games they lost to the Raiders, Falcons or the Bungles, they would have been in the playoffs since they would have the same record as the Chiefs, and win the tie breaker because of the head to head record. I thought the Stillers were going to pull it together after the Chiefs game. They looked like men playing with boys.

Good luck to the Chiefs, I don't think they have a prayer against the Ravens, San Diego or New England. For the first time in three years, I think Indy is very beatable. They could be the surprise of the playoffs. First, their defense has to figure out how to stop the run and the pass.:D

dkg999

If you can smell it, isn't it airborne? I used to use the charcoal trick to get the stink out of wrecked cars/trucks I used to buy and rebuild. Works every time.

schwarcw

dkg999 wrote:

If you can smell it, isn't it airborne? I used to use the charcoal trick to get the stink out of wrecked cars/trucks I used to buy and rebuild. Works every time.

Yes, but it's not like dust or as if someone farted in your car. The cigarette tar is infused into the wood and SLOWLY becomes airborne.

DarqueKnight

bert26 wrote:

Raife - are there any sort of copyright issues with the compendium and the associated Polk schematics? You never know what I might do on the weekend!
C-

The SDA Compendium is a copyrighted document, but the rights to the SDA schematics are owned by Polk. However since they no longer have any commercial interest in producing SDA loudspeakers, they distribute the schematics to anyone who asks. If you are interested in building a repository of schematics and posting it online for informational/educational purposes, I'm sure Polk, Inc. wouldn't mind, provided you gave them a courtesy call or email to let them know what you were doing. On the other hand, if you acquired the schematics and then went into commercial production of a resurrected line of SDA loudspeakers...well...you could certainly expect a call from Polk Inc.'s lawyers.

My perception is that Polk Inc. would be very appreciative if someone took the time and effort to scan in the SDA schematics and make them publicly available. It would relieve their customer service department of the burden of servicing schematic requests.

Getting back to copyright issues, even if a copyrighted work consists mainly of a collection of material that is in the "public domain", the collective work, which consists of a unique arrangement of that public domain material can be copyrighted. This is the same principle as individual words in the English language can not be copyrighted, but the unique, non-generic arrangement of words into phrases and larger literary works can be copyrighted.

steveinaz

That's nasty, and I smoke!

I'd try diluting some baking soda in hot water and wiping them down with a well-wrung rag.

bert26

Hey guys,

Thanks for all of the replies. I have actually passed on these Monitors. I really have no where to put them and actively use them. I would have just been hoarding and they probably would have been put in storage after a very short time....

Raife - as always a very cogent reply. I would not have the first idea on how to actually go about building a speaker - so the fine lawyers at Polk can stay on the bench!

The reason I was asking about the Compendium in PDF is that I often see post here that I could answer if I had my copy with me. Since I haven't memorized all things Polk and I refuse to carry my copy around with me (and thereby risk ruining it), I thought a PDF would be handy. I could just keep a local copy and use it as a reference.

Cheers!
Chris

reeltrouble1

all excellent ideas, if you get desperate I once had some stinky ones and passed gas on them, the old stink never had chance.

RT1

bert26

RT - that's just because you're so sweet! :eek: