How to de-stench a Krasnogorsk?

[Muckymuck]

Just bought a Krasnogorsk from someone in Russia. It came in it's leather case, which absolutely stinks! It's a meaty smell - undoubledly the leather itself -
which has worn off onto the camera, which is in otherwise great condition.

What should I use to clean the camera that will get the smell out without damaging it?

Thanks in advance!

[aj]

Put it in a highly vented place for a few weeks. Somewhat warm. All camera doors lids open.
Protect it from rain, of course

Possibly take off leather cover pieces if these are from real leather.

[etimh]

It's a meaty smell...

Post of the year. :lol:

Tim

[Charlie Blackfield]

I could come around with my pipe and smoke it in a bit. Current choices of tobaccoes are 'Black Honey', 'Black Cherry', and 'Irish Slices' - the last one's a more traditional flavour.

Being a pipesmoker helped me a great deal a few years ago when I had dead rats underneath my floorboards.

Charlie

[Sparky]

Or you could load it up with some old stock with "vinegar syndrome"- that should quickly overwhelm the meaty stench ;-)
Mark

[Sparky]

double

[Roster]

It's a meaty smell...

Post of the year. :lol:

Tim

Agreed. Perhaps a Romero-esque "Zombie" film is this camera's best and highest use.

[ekoe]

I have that problem with some of my old Polaroid cameras, except I'd describe it more like a strong band-aid smell. What I did on one occassion was to cut open a spent tube of toothpaste (the sort with baking soda) and I just stored it in the case with it for a couple weeks. Now I don't keep it in the case any longer and it does smell much better. Not minty anymore though.

[Clapton Pond]

Bicarbonate of soda - yes, the stuff you put in cakes - absorbs smells, so it could work well sprinkled in the case. Maybe you could put some in a sealed plastic bag with the camera resting on it, making sure that it doesn't get in the camera of course, leave it for a few days and see if it's any better...

ian

[Davideo]

Put a bunch of charcoal briquets (used for barbeque grills) and put them in panty hose and put the unit in an airtight box with the charcoal stocking and leave it closed for 2 weeks or so. The charcoal will absorb the smell. This remedy is used to remove the stench of spoiled shrimp in freezers.

[Sparky]

Excellent idea Davideo! or buy one of those pet brushes with the little ion flame deodorizer thing- they produce ozone and are great for getting rid of stink- I used one to keep my shoes from stinking and now I'm cured ;-) (not only does ozone get rid of stink, it kills bacteria and fungus too)
Mark

[Muckymuck]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

After a few days of being out of the case, the worst of the humm has gone, but I can still smell it when holding the camera, so I'm going to try the charcoal and bicarb options to see if we can get rid of that meaty stench once and for all!

[ekoe]

I just read some good stuff regarding moisture/odor absorption of bamboo charcoal and I thought of this 'meaty' Krasnogorsk.
How did it turn out?

[Muckymuck]

I came to the conclusion that the smell was in fact eminating from the leather case that held the camera.

I got rid of that asap and left the camera out to air for a few weeks. That got rid of the worst of the smell.

I then stored it in a new hard case with some silica gel (to dry the air).

It still has a slight smell, but you really have to sniff it now to detect it. Previously you could smell it from quite a distance!

[grainy]

I had/have this problem with my Kodak Cine. It's from 1923 so who knows what's happened to it in the last 80+ years but it's definitly the inside of the camera that smells rotten, like feet in this case. I'm thinking it could be the oil? Either way the spring is shot so it stopped holding its loop. Too bad because it made cool films 16mm at ~12fps.