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Cigarette smoke odor removal from classic leather Leitz 7x35b? (1 Viewer)

Paultricounty said:
Tried everything suggested here, didnt help…it worked perfectly.
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They’ll all work, just that your method may be faster. I almost ran out the door to get some fabreeze just now before remembering, my binoculars already don’t smell bad!
Binastro said:
My Fotons 5x25 and 10x40 smelt terribly 23 years ago when new. They still smell so badly I rarely use them.
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Some plastics are really bad and you may have gotten the worst ever! At least cigarette odor will fade, eventually.
 
I think it is the glue.

The Fotons are I think metal and leatherette.

I also had a Victory 10x40 that was awful, but I can't remember why.

Regards,
B.
 
What do car dealers use on used-car dashboards/interiors where the former owner was a smoker? It would seem that they deal with smoke-smell in car interiors somewhat frequently. Especially in a high-end car, smoke odor would lower its value.
 
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Problem solved.

Well not really.

I just used the 5x25 Foton and the smell persists.

But, wearing a blue face mask the smell has gone.

However, on each breath the eyepieces fog up and clears in about two seconds.

It is humid and loud thunderstorms today and around 30C/86F.

Obviously a more sophisticated mask is needed.

These could be provided free with a high end motor car.

Regards,
B.
 
As other people here have noted, you want the stink molecules to go from the high concentration area (unfortunately your 7x35bs) to anywhere else. Do you have a fan? If so, you might try sitting them in front of the fan, turn on the fan, and get more fresh air moving past them per unit time. And you might want to do this in a room (or garage or ...) which is reasonably well ventilated, so all those stink molecules move permanently away from the 7x35bs.

Good luck. And if all else fails, I could maybe take them off your hands for you. :)
 
Thotmosis said:
BTW as objective covers i bought some Opticron lens covers 32 mm, works just fine.

Now I’m looking for some eyepiece covers, anybody?

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Thotmosis,

I use Opticron (the "universal" style model not sure what it's really called) eyepiece covers on a number different sized bins. Don't know what size would best fit your Trinovids though.

Mike
 
Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies. A couple of avenues to pursue - it never occurred to me the odor might come off in layers, to keep trying the Armor All. I also accept that it may not be possible to eliminate the odor completely, but I am certainly going to try.

Since it may take a while, I bought another pair of low power binos for handholding. This will help me be patient with the process of deodorizing the 7x35b. I purchased the 8x42 Ultravid BLs from the classifieds here. I have spent more than I intended, but c’est la vie. I may never buy from eBay again.

I will report back when I reach a conclusion on the odor removal, in case it helps someone else.

Laura
 
Armor All? Isn't that for automotive use? Not sure I'd want to use that on something I touch with my hands - or a precision optical instrument for that matter.
 
lcaldero said:
Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies. A couple of avenues to pursue - it never occurred to me the odor might come off in layers, to keep trying the Armor All. I also accept that it may not be possible to eliminate the odor completely, but I am certainly going to try.

Since it may take a while, I bought another pair of low power binos for handholding. This will help me be patient with the process of deodorizing the 7x35b. I purchased the 8x42 Ultravid BLs from the classifieds here. I have spent more than I intended, but c’est la vie. I may never buy from eBay again.

I will report back when I reach a conclusion on the odor removal, in case it helps someone else.

Laura
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Great glass. You may not be very smitten with the Leitz after using the BL's for a while.

​

 
lcaldero said:
…I also accept that it may not be possible to eliminate the odor completely, but I am certainly going to try.
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The odor will go away, eventually. I used to play in bars and didn’t notice the cigarette smoke, because I was at work, and that’s the way it was. Once I’d get back to the hotel room though, arrrggghh!
All of my guitars stank like cigarette smoke, but now none of them do.
Cat smell was definitely worse and I had some people move out, leaving a mess. I wish the dog poop was all I had to deal with, but the cat smell was so bad that it took about a week with the windows and doors all open, fans blowing around the clock, before my eyes weren’t watering anymore.
Spent a couple months working on the house and by the time it was ready again most people couldn’t smell anything, although it was a couple of years before the living room (only room I didn’t throw the carpet away) was totally odor free.
Definitely a good lesson for me, and no more cats!!
lcaldero said:
I purchased the 8x42 Ultravid BLs from the classifieds here.
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I wanted those too!
lcaldero said:
I may never buy from eBay again.
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I’ll always buy from eBay, but I’ll always use caution too. Some of my favorite guitars and binoculars came from there.
 
dries1 said:
The rubber eyecups for the Leitz models are no longer available from Leica. I purchased two sets years ago when they were available, however when I inquired again later on they stated that the eyecups are no longer available.
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Oof, I need to find some more of these.
 

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