Used speakers smell like smoke big time! what to do?

Had the same issue. I put the grills outside, sprayed them with febreeze, and left them in the sun for a few hours.

The smell from the rest of the wood/speakers just eventually aired out on their own - even members of my family that are really sensitive to those types of smells can't smell them.
 
I used pledge with citrus in it and honest to God it worked wonderfully. Look for the orange spray cans. Something in there totally neutralizes it.
 
Get some odor neutralizing agent (ONA), you can google it. I know Amazon carries it. I like the gel type.

Seal the components in a (relatively) airtight container with the ONA for a few days. You don't apply it to anything, just keep an opened jar of it in the container with the components. No damage to surrounds like ozone will cause (much cheaper and easier than renting an ozone generator too). Not to mention the sideways glances when renting an ozone generator... they're used a lot by pot growers / harvesters to mask the smell.

It doesn't just cover up the smell like other products do, it removes it.

This technique is what professional cleanup crews use for things like clothes that have been through a fire. If they'll get smoke smell out of those, they'll definitely work for this.
 
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my 58S's stunk of cigarrette smoke....so bad, they stunk up my whole basement....wiping the cabinets down with lacquer thinner took out 90% of the smell, and leaving them out in the garage seems to have taken out the rest. I had planned on re-doing the grilles anyway, so the old fabric went in the trash
 
Tobacco smell is one of the hardest things to removed, because part of it is from tar deposits that will continue to outgas unless they are either removed or sealed. If total elimination is the goal, you'll need to open them up, replace the grill fabric and the internal stuffing, wipe down the cabinets inside and out with a solvent cleaner (naptha or mineral spirits) and then seal the wood. You can brush something like Kilz onto the interior surfaces, and the best exterior finish would be an oil/varnish blend like Watco that will put a finish layer on the outer surface. That will leave only the porous surfaces of the drivers untreated, and those you can probably deal with using deodorants.
 
EddyR,
I've heard of using vinegar as an ONA,
Putting items in with pan of white vinegar. As I remember, vinegar is very acidic. I don't know how cab finish/ wood would react. I'd be Leary of letting it touch anything electrical. If Lee, has no objections, I have no problem picking up the freight on new sound baffling insulation if that solves some of the problems.
 
I'm with the others on cleaning the cabs with mineral spirits and washing or replacing the grill cloth. You'll be surprised by how much tar is built up on those cabs and in the grill.
BTW, when I used to smoke I still noticed and disliked that stale cigarette odor.
 
Febreeze made clean spots where the material looks more "open". However, it also caused the grill cloth to sag. :grumpy:

I swear, sometimes it's like two steps forward, and three steps back.

Lee.
 
Definitely replace the grille cloth. Classic ARs with the light natural linen grilles can be a challenge to match, but the dark fabric on the later models is pretty nondescript.
 
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