The AM Forum

What is the most effective nicotine stain remover that will not affect paint ?

I have successfully used 409 diluted with water, but it likely will depend on the paint.  Warm soapy water sparingly applied might be worth trying first.

Westley's Blech-White whitewall cleaner.  Do not spray on directly though or it might spot.  Also you need to rinse it off really well.  It will almost instantly remove nicotine - haven't had the same luck with 409, Windex, scrubbing bubbbles, or anything else.

Just cleaned up a nasty Drake MSR-1with Westley's that had been in some ship's radio shack, where Pall-Malls were obviously just as critical to the job as a set of cans.

Ammonia and 409 about half and half in a bowel and a gentle old pain brush. Rinse off. The crap melts away.
Do not mix ammonia with anything else, though. ok in 409.

JUST THIS, straight from the bottle liberally onto a paper towel.  One swipe, done.



(http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv62/mikeinkcmo/Radios/Misc/AmmoniaBottle8X6_zpssikbfuwl.jpg)

Recently cleaned HT44

Before (click the pic)

(http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv62/mikeinkcmo/Radios/HT%2044/HT44%20Ebay_zpsfayhzjmz.jpg) (http://s670.photobucket.com/user/mikeinkcmo/library/Radios/HT%2044?sort=3&page=1)

After   (click the pic)
(http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv62/mikeinkcmo/Radios/HT%2044/HT44%201_zpsrszigdjq.jpg) (http://s670.photobucket.com/user/mikeinkcmo/media/Radios/HT%2044/HT44%201_zpsrszigdjq.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1)

Must admit I pulled the knobs and soaked in Ammonia while I cleaned the panel.

Great.....looks SUPER

Years ago when I cleaned up my first Clegg station, nothing seemed to touch the front panel staining and overall discoloration. They seem to all yellow with time. Ended up pulling the panels and soaking them in the kitchen sink with a bleach/water mixture. Can't recall the mix now, wasn't overpowering but strong enough. Maybe 70/30 at most. Used a soft bristle tooth brush and some four aught steel wool, cleaned them up like new aside from a couple of small, deep scratches. Still have the original Interceptor, looks as good as the day I cleaned it.

Fantastik/409 type cleaners will quickly remove some paint and screened lettering, I avoid them like the plague except for specific areas of crud on the chassis and such.

As previously suggested I use "Krud Buster" available from Home Depot / Lowes.

It's strong, so try a 50-50 solution first. Works great on aluminum. This weekend I cleaned my aluminum window screens with it. Sprayed them, used a soft brush to scrub and hosed them off. They came out shiny! My neighbor even commented on how bright the aluminum looked. Tried it on several painted surfaces and it hasn't marred the finish so far.

Currently I have used Zep 505 with amazingly great results... the "brown" just pours off.

The current 409 seems like a different formula than the old 409... fwiw, ymmv.

                        _-_-

Looks like the Westley's labeled stuff has been replaced with "Black Magic" Bleache-White. Evidently reading some info on various forums seems to indicate that it's not as effective on whitewalls as the original stuff.

It sounds like we have some real chemistry majors here ;)

The ammonia sounds good. 409 I have tried with some success but there is still a visible layer there compared to the area directly under the removed plexi window on my Clegg Zeus. The ZEP 505 sounds interesting. I believe Home Depot sells the ZEP stuff

Don't Forget "Simple Green"...

A friend of mine had always used "Simple Green" on the playing fields of old Pin Ball Machines.  He claims it doesn't remove any of the print/paint and when it is raised off, the playing fields come up almost new looking.  So "Simple Green" is another great solution for removing crud. 

But nicotine stains is what was mentioned, so...someone needs to try this "Simple Green" on Nicotine and then post here (Yea) YaY or Nay!

Best of Luck

Ken

I use simple green a lot but it did not remove this layer of grime even with a full strength solution.

Did you try the whitewall cleaner?

Sparkle glass cleaner works good. I consider it one of the best glass cleaners I've come across.  It's very neutral to painted surfaces.  Can't find it here locally and I imagine many won't find it locally as well unless you're in the midwest.  I order it online.

An old remedy is a paste of flour made with enough Hydrogen peroxide to make it like peanut butter. 

Slather it on, cover with Saran wrap till stiff, flake off.

73DG

no I have not. Was looking for some tried and true methods. It is a lettered front panel so I have to be sensitive with it too.

Hello Stephanie..I will throw in my 2 cents..a lot of restoration has been done here and like you when I first started I did try lots of the products given here by others..some were kinda OK but a few dulled the paint or started to slowly obliterate the decals/markings..kinda too strong or too abrasive..sooo I decided to try a product that I had used a lot b/4 on my various vehicles over the years..made by Turtle Wax..called Tar and Bug Cleaner..originally came in a liquid pour out bottle but over the years has gone to a spray bottle that IS the same stuff but in a more convient way to apply..so they say..actually I still spray out what I need on a cloth and apply as I did way back then..my thoughts on this stuff are this..if they sold sumptin strong enuff to remove stains (and it DOES!) but won't dull or harm ur precious automobile finish then it's gotta be a gud thing..this stuff on my auto has removed dried up paint/asphalt/bird goo/bug splatters/rust stains without ever hurting the finish..sooo I used it on my radio front panels etc and it DOES work very well..dat's my story and I'm stickin' to it..hope it works for you as well as it has for me             73 de DAVE

coca cola....

I assume we're talking about a Clegg front panel. Since I have a number of Clegg rigs still here and others that have come and gone, I noticed quite a variation in the front panel colors of the Zeus and Interceptor after 50 plus years. Some of it is probably due to paint aging and the rest possibly due to air borne contaminates. Depending on the type of paint that was used, some of this stuff might now permanently embedded as part of the panel color. The overall solution would be to strip the panel completely, then repaint and then re-letter. I have one Zeus and one Interceptor panel that actually have an egg-shell white color with a slightly yellow/tan tint. I've tried numerous solutions in some non-lettered places on the front panels to remove the yellow/tan tint but was never successful. Polishing the front panels produced a sheen, and with the overhead lighting, the tint is hardly noticeable. But, I'm a person that fixes "radios" and would never tag myself as a "radio restorer".