# nicotine stain removal, how to?



## cjett (Aug 29, 2007)

My wife swears by Thunder Blast and/or White Lightning, both work the same. They work great on nicotine but I would try on a small section of the cabinet first to see how they react. Not sure if she has ever used them on the cabinets in our house, but she probably has. You can usually find these at the "Dollar" type stores and at Lowes too I think.


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## Rehabber (Dec 29, 2005)

Try 'Purple Power' available at Wal Mart in the automotive section. mix it with equal parts of water. IT MAY DULL THE FINISH.


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## timber (Nov 30, 2007)

I'll probably try both if I can find them. I think I've heard of purple power. If any of these do dull the finish, should I just apply a new clear coat?


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## gofrugal (Dec 15, 2007)

http://thehardwarecity.com/thc/index.html?sku=6319156

has worked for me.


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## jms (May 26, 2007)

*nicotine removal*

equal parts of ammonia and water. Spray it on or sponge it on. let it soak for
30 seconds or so then wipe of with same solution. 
Have a nice day.
jeff


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Clean them as best you can
Don't worry about affecting the gloss, it's doomed anyway
Seal what's left with B-I-N white pigmented shellac
Re-paint with a quality alkyd or waterborne enamel


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## timber (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks for all the imput, I'm not looking forward to this! slickshift, I want to keep the stained finish that they have,so will just any shellac do?


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

timber said:


> ...I want to keep the stained finish that they have...


That will be a difficult undertaking
Depending on how bad the staining is, I wouldn't take the job...at any price
It would be deceiving the customer that there is a good chance of this happening
If it's bad enough, there's not any chance at all

That being said, it's hard to say from here how bad it is
It's possible that one (or a combo) of the cleaning methods may remove the film _if it's not too bad_

In that case, if you can remove the film/stains, then simply use a few coats of oil poly to bring back the shine (which _will_ be removed during the cleaning process)
It will be a "see what ya got" type deal...there's no way to know from here if you will have enough finish left and enough nic stain removed to do this

If it's gone too far, then use the pigmented shellac as a sealer, and paint the cabinets with a premium enamel (oil or waterborne)
That would be (or was) my first suggestion
That's a "for sure" thing


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## timber (Nov 30, 2007)

I got you, I got confused when you said paint, Thinking you ment painting them with a color. I think they are already pretty dull from all the cleaning we've already tried. Thanks for the help!


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## johnstevens (Jun 22, 2009)

*Thanks|*

﻿I definitely need to try that. Thanks


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## Ozarkwoman (Aug 4, 2012)

*I have an old refrigerator and it is covered in nicotine. I believe it is plastic coating on it. How do I get rid of The brown nicotine coating?*


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Ozarkwoman said:


> *I have an old refrigerator and it is covered in nicotine. I believe it is plastic coating on it. How do I get rid of The brown nicotine coating?*


This is an old thread but nothing has changed. Smoker residue is a pain to deal with.

I too have had good luck with Purple Power from the auto store. Simple Green is not bad.

Some posting to this same topic elsewhere said they had good luck with plastics and vinyls using magic eraser kitchen sponge things. 

If the frig is stained so badly and the outer material is vinyl or plastic you may not be able to get all the stain. 

You should differently do a search to see if you can find other posts.


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## Ozarkwoman (Aug 4, 2012)

Thx I will try these things. Forgot about those eraser things. That's next try.:thumbsup:


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## remoder (Aug 19, 2012)

Household ammonia. Nothing better. My wife found a mirror she liked that was a light brown but smelled of smoke. Someone told her about this and it was as simple as wipe on and wipe off. The mirror is now an off-white after cleaning.


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