Recommendations for cleaning smoker-owned vintage receiver?

swechsler

Frog Whisperer
Just picked up a classic Pioneer receiver with blackout tuning dial. Owner was a smoker; knobs are tar stained. Cleaning the aluminum is fairly straightforward; I'm wondering about the best way to get all the nasties out of the insides. It's currently working, although I didn't check every function and input.
 
I'm just finishing up a Kenwood 600 I bought in similar condition. I'm not certain what it was, but it was gooey and sticky and dark.

I set it on edge and hosed it down with 91% isopropyl alcohol from a spray bottle and gently scrubbed with a chip brush.Scrub, rinse repeat multiple times. I went through 1/2 gallon of the stuff before I was happy. The entire amp was disassembled at various time while I worked on each section and the individual parts were cleaned with alcohol as well. (the chassis was removed and painted) Came out real clean.

This is an integrated amp - I would imagine precautions would be neeed for the tuner board and variable cap on a receiver.

P1011457.JPG


P1011458.JPG
P1011459.JPG

IMG_0852.JPG

IMG_0851.JPG

IMG_0866.JPG
 
OK, after closer examination, it looks like nothing bad actually got into the thing. I suspect original owner had the receiver inside a shelf unit. There was a small amount of surface dust that I was able to wipe off, but that was about it. However, there is a musty smell, that might be part smoke and part dust that's been heated up. The smell is in both the case (real wood veneer over plywood) and the unit itself.

Any recommendations for removing these smells from electronics?
 
Wash it with a heavy spray of IsoPropyl Alcohol and agitate the alcohol on the unit carefully with a paint brush. Do a thorough cleaning and then a nice rinse with the same IPA and let is run off the boards, position the unit so this happens. The higher percentage IPA (70, 90 and 99% are available, 70 the most common, try to find 90% or more) the shorter time you need to let the unit dry before hauling it back inside to evaluate. Give it some time, though.
 
The alcohol won't damage any components? How about the printing on the boards? Can I use it on the wood as well?
 
It dries so quickly that it won't damage the wood wiping it with a damp rag. There might be some printing but not board printing, just sharpie marker. There are other electro cleaning chemicals that work well but are harder to find. I have some LPS Electo 140 cleaner I use before I use the alcohol to wash the board clean.
 
I had a case like this, beautiful Onkyo receiver but every time I would run it for more than 20 min. I would be on the edge of throwing up.
Smoker owned for sure, heated smell was combination of a mold infested basement and cheap Karaoke bar on Monday morning...
I tried everything, list would be too long to mention here, but that included spaying with alcohol, rubbing with all kind of refreshing stuff - nothing helped.
One of the craziest attempts was to cut two fresh onions and seal them under the top cover for two days!
Long story short, when I started restoring it I would spray/wash/rinse every single PC board with mix of 80% water and 20% dishwasher liquid. And after each finished board smell would get
less and less intensive. Finally, when I recapped both power amp driver boards the smell was completely gone. Not to mention that water running
off the washed PC boards was dark brown/grey sludge...Not an easy fix but at least it is possible.
 
The alcohol won't damage any components? How about the printing on the boards? Can I use it on the wood as well?

I may be a little late but I'd recommend you keep the alcohol off the tuning capacitor, they're kinda sensitive to it. As for the smell, do as Pete said, just let it sit outside in the sun with the top cover off. I'd also like to add that Pioneers just have a certain smell to them, my SX-737 has it and my SX-750, TX-7500 and SA-7500, I think it's the flux they used.
 
This is the first vintage Pioneer I've had in years. so I really have nothing to compare it with. If we can get a few good days of decent weather here (we've got thunderstorms predicted every day this week) I'll try the outdoors trick.

Wonder if I can safely spray Febreze on the cabinet?
 
This is the first vintage Pioneer I've had in years. so I really have nothing to compare it with. If we can get a few good days of decent weather here (we've got thunderstorms predicted every day this week) I'll try the outdoors trick.

Wonder if I can safely spray Febreze on the cabinet?

On the cabinet, sure, internals is a nono, if you want to clean items with isoproply focus on the big heatsink, that's what will be producing the most smell as it will be on of the hottest components, also, all of my Pio's started out with a very strong smell but after a few weeks in daily use you can barely smell anything at the vents.
 
Isopropyl bath on internal components with paintbrush, followed by garden hose flush. Then blow it out with compressed air, let sit directly in hot sun to dry, don't power back on for at least a day. That has worked for me on a unit that was unusable due to smell. Wouldn't recommend it unless you get to that point. Never use Fabreze on anything outside of the bathroom.
 
whatcha get? my avatar is my office daily...(sx890)

use clorox lemon wipes on the outsides, it removes smokers hack well.

seriously suck out the guts with the micro tools for shop vacs (only on a small 1hp, use them on a big one and the motor will blow) then q-tip is with 90+% iso. short of dunking it in a bath of iso - its your best bet
 
Isopropyl bath on internal components with paintbrush, followed by garden hose flush.
I like the alcohol last for a few reasons. First IPA evaporates much quicker than a garden hose flush, second, the garden hose flush as all kinds of contaminants in it that I would not know about and third the IPA mixes with the water to make it evaporate more quickly and better.

IPA is a cleaner fluid than garden hose water
IPA is used as a final rinse of lab equipment to remove (by miscibility) the water used to wash the beaker or whatever.
 
I like the alcohol last for a few reasons. First IPA evaporates much quicker than a garden hose flush, second, the garden hose flush as all kinds of contaminants in it that I would not know about and third the IPA mixes with the water to make it evaporate more quickly and better.

IPA is a cleaner fluid than garden hose water
IPA is used as a final rinse of lab equipment to remove (by miscibility) the water used to wash the beaker or whatever.
I thot IPA is a beer?
 
Back
Top Bottom