Atari Restoration Problems

[FlagHunterV12]

I have an Atari 2600 that I bought a few months ago, when I got it well... Lets just say it wasn't in the best condition. There was dust all over it, Gunk in the vents, Multiple layers of cigar ash and yes it reeked of cigar smoke! I have since got around to restoring it but I have a few problems.

 

How do I get rid of the sticky tar residue of the console (And controllers)

 

How do I get rid of the smell of smoke (I am trying to avoid using scented cleaning agents mainly because I don't want my Atari smelling like an Apple tree)  

 

I appreciate you taking the time to help thx!

[+DrVenkman]

Disassemble the whole thing and wash in warm, sudsy water and a soft nylon brush. Use mild dish soap and a soft nylon brush on the case and all around the electrical components. Rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry for as long as necessary to remove all moisture. For the PCB, if you have enough, after washing with water you can rinse with isopropyl alcohol and then allow it to dry. The iso will displace the water and help things evaporate dry more quickly. If any residue remains, clean again more thoroughly with isopropyl and again allow to dry. If any odor remains, close everything up inside a sealed container with baking soda or (better) activated charcoal. If you can place the container in a warm environment (a sunny corner of the room or a sun porch for instance), it will speed the process. Give it a day or two and you should be good.

[Mockduck]

I had to clean up a VCS once that had been used by a long-time smoker apparently until they dumped a glass of coke or something into the console. Was an eBay purchase, got it and its smell filled the room, opened it up to find the entire board and inside covered in tacky 20-year-old dried soda sugar sludge in it. It got it working without much issue! Took some time, but I did what the above person said: Take it apart, wash the plastic case very well in soapy hot water, let it soak for a while, too, and scrub with a non-wire (soft) brush. In my case, when I took the case out I dumped it into a box with a whole box of baking soda dumped into the box and let it sit for a few days as well to absorb the smell first. On the PCB, I used rubbing alcohol and q-tips carefully, and it worked. Was quite the gross project but worked fine.