# Need help repairing cigarette smoke damage to oak roll top desk



## Sabre (Aug 26, 2016)

Father past away and left my wife and I a large oak roll top desk he and mom bought back in the 70's. Both smoked heavily and the desk smells so strong we have not been able to bring it into the house. In some areas the finish was actually tacky and it stuck to the moving pads we protected it with when we picked it up. We spent last weekend and several times this past week 'gently' wiping it down switching between Mineral spirits, Vinegar, and Murphy's wood cleaner being careful to blend the overall appearance of the piece as we go and avoiding streaks and light spots. We've removed a lot of the smell but it is still to strong to bring into the house. We would appreciate any help or advice anyone has. 
I've been a woodworker for over 40 years but finishes are not my strong suit.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

I would try a citrus orange cleaner. Test on an inconspicuous place first though.
Something like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Trewax-Natural-Cleaner-Degreaser-32-Ounce/dp/B000I18QYS/ref=sr_1_3/153-4573421-1525429?ie=UTF8&qid=1472314583&sr=8-3&keywords=citrus+orange+cleaner

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-NA200-Citrus-Orange-Cleaner/dp/B002UIW66Q/ref=sr_1_4/153-4573421-1525429?ie=UTF8&qid=1472314583&sr=8-4&keywords=citrus+orange+cleaner


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## diverlloyd (Apr 25, 2013)

+1 on the citrus cleaner and you may need to do some scrubbing. Tar and nicotine can be a tough one to clean. Dawn dish soap works well to.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Ive used the citrus as well with fairly decent results. Unfortunately I've also had to strip and refinish pieces that have been exposed to that much smoke, It eventually works its way down into the finish and the wood just like moister would


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## Sabre (Aug 26, 2016)

jbay; Thank you for your help we're on Lowes nor Wal-mart had any true citrus cleaners, we're on amazon now looking at options. 
diverlloyd; Your right about the Dawn, Forgot to mention that we did use Dawn and it did a great job on removing the tacky finish from the piece. 
jwmalone: you may be right it may need to be completed refinished which would be sad, it has a beautiful orange glow to it now with light witness areas where my moms desk pad, phone and other items sat for years.
Thank you all again for taking time to help.


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## Luthierman (Jun 4, 2015)

There is also trisodium phosphate. I used to do fire restoration and we used that stuff constantly to remove smoke damage. It also worked really well on nicotine stains. Any hardware store has it. Most of the time its just labeled TSP.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

Sounds like you've got the surfaces pretty clean.
For the deeper odors, ry putting small bowls of baking soda in all the drawers and a couple or three on the desk top and close it up. Let it set for at least a week. Then see if the odor is gone. Do it again for any odor that lingers.


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## Sabre (Aug 26, 2016)

Luthiermann; I saw the TSP at Lowe's but I thought it said it wasn't recommended for wood. I'll check it out again.
Gene; thanks for the info, we have a roll of plastice and will wrap it up tonight with the baking soda in it.


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## gator9t9 (Apr 4, 2008)

Did you remove the tamboor rolling door….remove and replace…...the cloth on that door.And fill every drawer with.
Cedar shavings.leave it for a good month…...if that does not work. Its down to bare wood on every piece
Of the desk…..and roll top desks have a lot of parts….....and dont forget the secret compartment.

Good luck

Gator9t9


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> Sounds like you ve got the surfaces pretty clean.
> For the deeper odors, ry putting small bowls of baking soda in all the drawers and a couple or three on the desk top and close it up. Let it set for at least a week. Then see if the odor is gone. Do it again for any odor that lingers.
> - Gene Howe


Along those lines, I got a tip from a contractor years ago that works wonders… coffee. Sprinkle it around, put it in bowls, whatever. If it can get rid of the smells in an old refrigerator after the power was out for over a month, it can get rid of just about anything 

Cheers,
Brad


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## Sabre (Aug 26, 2016)

Thankso Gator, it has a removal back and the tambour can be removed easily, odd thing is it has barely a smell to it, might be because it was never closed. 
Thanks Brad, adding coffee and baking powder to the mornings shopping list


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## gator9t9 (Apr 4, 2008)

Ah the good old days…...coffee and a pall mall….

Gator9t9


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## Sabre (Aug 26, 2016)

Thanks to everyone's suggestions we were able to eliminate the smoke smell and move the desk inside. Went to walmart and Picked up a couple of cans of cheap coffee and a couple of boxes of baking soda and a pack of the red plastic party mix bowls. I had the top, pedestal and drawers sprayed on different work benches and placed multiple bowls of coffee and baking soda in and on each piecend. We then wrapped everything up in plastic and leg it sit for 3 days.
When we unwrapped everything I was strummed at how faint of an oder remained. We then wiped it down wit orange citrus Woods cleaner and brought it in th house. 
Thanks again for the fast and friendly advice.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Beautiful desk, glad you didn't have to strip it


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

Nice desk, and a heirloom good you were able to preserve it minus the stains and smell.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

Good job. I'd give anything to have a great desk like that. It is totally amazing.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

Probably fumed Oak! Betcha a lot of the odor comes from the canvas backing on the tambour.

Eric


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## DustyM (May 16, 2016)

Congrats on the save, Sabre! It looks like a beautiful desk you'll enjoy for a long time coming.
And thanks to everyone who commented here…plenty of good knowledge to store away for the future!


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## PPK (Mar 8, 2016)

Super nice desk. It's my dream to someday build a roll top desk.


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