# Painting home of cigarette smoker.



## Pat_The_Painter (Mar 6, 2013)

I have very little experience with painting homes that have had a cigarette smoker present. I went on an estimate yesterday and the home owner smokes and is looking to put her house on the market and have the whole thing repainted to cover up the smell(3 story town house). She is not a heavy smoker and no smoke stains are on the walls but you can definitely tell she smokes. It is currently a shell white color with very little damage/scuffs to all areas. I told her we need to recoat everything and 1 coat would be sufficient with using the Super Paint from SW. Will one coat be sufficient to cover the smell? Should I be priming everything with a shellac primer first?


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

I would prime it first myself.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

At the very least, wipe everything down with Krud Cutter or Tsp first. Just because you don't see the ugly nicotine layer over everything doesn't mean it isn't there. Best practices would also include a coat of BIN primer, but you have to be the judge of that after cleaning. Remove a picture or mirror from a wall and see the color difference. And two topcoats, not one would be suggested.

Some painters skip the wiping part if they are using BIN, as it seals quite well. Of course, cleaning any surface before painting is always going to be the preferred option.


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## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

I did a house a year ago and I sprayed the whole house with cover stain, it was real bad. Prime it all, make sure the carpet and window coverings are cleaned. A little smoke odor goes a long way. The guy that works for me smokes and I can't let him in my house for very long because it bothers my wife.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

Doesn't mater what you use, one coat won't work.

Gonna have to prime, then topcoat. Also will need to clean out hvac system, carpets, etc... paint alone will not completely remove the smell.


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## phahn (Jun 1, 2015)

Cover stain
Works great to seal out the odor and stains 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

God I hate Cover Stain almost as much as I hate cigarette smoke. BIN for the win. Smell goes away in 30 minutes. CS, not so much.


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## DynaPLLC (Oct 25, 2013)

Tell you what...I had the same scenario about a year ago. Owners smoke in the dining and kitchen area. The ceiling was yellow. I said ok let's see what two coats of BM Ceiling paint + vanilla scentsations will do on the heavy smell. It covered good and it smelled even better.

best scenario is prime with BIN and top coat with 2 coats of paint.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

As driftweed pointed out; carpets, windows treatments, etc. will need to be cleaned/replaced to rid the home of the smoke odors. Probably more of a factor than the painted surfaces.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

We do probably 20-30 apartment a year that are smoke damaged, great $$ in them. Especially because we can blow n go because virtually everything will be either cleaned or replaced. Usually make about $500/hr. Nasty pays.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

But....it's Superpaint! That won't seal smoke odor? It does everything else doesn't it? And isn't a paint and primer in one? Doesn't that mean that SW will come and re-paint it if it doesn't work? For free? (ba-zinga!)


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## Joshua1304 (Jun 10, 2015)

1. Clean with TSP/Krud Kutter/Spray9

2. Prime with White Shellac or Synthetic Shellac

3. Two coats SW Harmony Eg-shel (odor reducing for ambient smells left over).


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

does the SW harmony absorb pug farts?


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

DynaPLLC said:


> Tell you what...I had the same scenario about a year ago. Owners smoke in the dining and kitchen area. The ceiling was yellow. I said ok let's see what two coats of BM Ceiling paint + vanilla scentsations will do on the heavy smell. It covered good and it smelled even better.
> 
> best scenario is prime with BIN and top coat with 2 coats of paint.


BM 508 is as good as it gets for ceilings IMO, but sometimes the paint will appear to seal everything in until you have to touch it up. You'll then notice the white ceilings now have a yellowish hue, and touch-ups will appear slightly whiter. If you're just talking about spraying a straight white and never touching it up, it could pass, possibly, as long as you don't hold the initial white color chip next to it.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

If you put it on thick enough, lol


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## Pat_The_Painter (Mar 6, 2013)

kdpaint said:


> God I hate Cover Stain almost as much as I hate cigarette smoke. BIN for the win. Smell goes away in 30 minutes. CS, not so much.


"Bin for the win" Sounds like a winner


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

I'm doing a disgusting smokers house at the moment. I want to vomit when I wash the ceilings and walls.

.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Just paint it Navajo White flat and call it good:thumbsup:


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

stupid woman homeowner has a cigarillo dangling from her lip all day long inside her house.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Have met very few that want to make a big investment to sell a house or for investment property (Rental) so here's a thought - Cover stain can take at least a couple oz of tint, how about tint the cover stain to match the existing and recoat with one coat. Would have a very slight sheen but would be ready to go for the next home owner.

Just a thought


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

so whats your product for washing off cigarette smoke ? We use a product down here called sugarsoap which is Trisodium Phosphate or TSP in the united states. 

Picture below is a ceiling I have been washing. I stopped and took a picture so you can see the difference.


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

by the way, I feel sick doing this sort of work. Its revolting.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

These are the same people with multiple cats and little surprises left behind the furniture


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

even though I wear rubber gloves when washing down this dirty house, it puts me off eating my lunch.


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## fredo (Nov 20, 2011)

listen to driftweed...paint may be a good place to start, but look at the rest of the house too....and scentsation is pretty good at making houses smell good.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Tonyg said:


> Have met very few that want to make a big investment to sell a house or for investment property (Rental) so here's a thought - Cover stain can take at least a couple oz of tint, how about tint the cover stain to match the existing and recoat with one coat. Would have a very slight sheen but would be ready to go for the next home owner.
> 
> Just a thought


You could call the color "nicotine stain brown"!

I had a painter that was going to do the ceiling of a restaurant that had been open for 50-60 years. This was right about the time that restaurants were getting rid of smoking in California. The owners were shutting down for a couple of weeks for their first vacation in 30 or so years. They had a cleaning company come in to clean the walls and ceilings before they go repainted for the first time in god knows how long. The first day the painter shows up, the owner pops in to see how things are going and he says "wow you sure got that ceiling painted in a hurry! In I don't remember that we were getting new lighting."

The painter told him they hadn't even started yet and the lighting hadn't been changed. The only difference was the ceilings weren't that nasty Navajo white nicotine color anymore. I went there for lunch (used to go frequently. They were the only place in San Diego that even knew what cole slaw was!) 
It was incredible! The place was ten times brighter then it had been and I could read the menu without a flashlight.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Brian C said:


> so whats your product for washing off cigarette smoke ? We use a product down here called sugarsoap which is Trisodium Phosphate or TSP in the united states.
> 
> Picture below is a ceiling I have been washing. I stopped and took a picture so you can see the difference.


TSP is quite common in the US. There has been a pretty good debate about this on PT. If you have a product called Dirtex by a company called Savogran it works about the same but is much more forgiving in regards to rinsing after using it. TSP can cause problems if it isn't rinsed off well.

Another product that my restaurant story reminded me of is a product called Borax. It is what the cleaning company used on that restaurant job. I remember them telling me it was the best thing for nicotine stains but I haven't heard anyone on PT mention it for nicotine cleaning. It is an all natural product with a mild abrasive that slowly dissolves as it's being used. You can quite safely use it to scrub your hands as well. It is about the only non-solvent product that I know of that can remove oil based paints from your skin.


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## beedoola (May 18, 2015)

What if you were going to spray? Would you still chose BIN over Cover Stain? You have to use 50/50 ammonia and water to clean up BIN, ya?

Is there any water-based primer that can handle smoke damage like this?


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

I would always use BIN over CS for almost any purpose. 50/50 ammonia/water works. 

BIN Advanced synthetic shellac might work for kind of water based primer (soap & water clean up). Although it doesn't quite clean up like a water based primer. Plus, for serious smoke damage, I still like old school BIN. Either way, clean everything and rinse really well.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Several years ago, a buddy of mine and myself got hired to paint the house of a hoarder. Guy died after several years of not leaving the house. Smoked, drank and ate "hungry man" meals his brother bought him. I won't even get into what condition the toilet was in, but I'd never seen anything like it. Half inch of dust on everything.

We scrubbed the walls with TSP. Worked great. Brown sludge literally ran down the walls. By day two of cleaning, brother decided to cancel the job and gut the place instead. We got paid and left. Happily.

TSP for the win and as others have said, rinse really really well.


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## beedoola (May 18, 2015)

Would you use TSP on surfaces painted flat? I usually on used TSP for bathrooms and kitchens.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Cleaning nicotine and cigarette smoke*

Years ago I did a cleaning job for a realtor to help her sell a listing of hers. An old man smoked only in his bedroom and it really showed! I got a product from a janitorial supply house that was designed primarily for cleaning restaurant ceilings. It came in 2 small bottles that you would mix together into a garden sprayer along with 1 or 2 gallons of water. One of the bottles contained some form of hydrogen peroxide and the other some mix of enzymes. As I sprayed the solution on, it would start turning the surfaces white like the original color of the paint. I believe I used a wet vac with a squeegee attachment to vac the solution off. I also rinsed with clean water afterwards and vac'd that off as well. I ran out of solution and had to finish the rest with Soilax (who here remembers that?) which didn't do too bad of a job itself.

When I was all done, the room looked like it had been freshly painted. This cleaning also went a long way in getting the smell out of the room.

I have searched in vain for this product on the internet. What I did come up with is a product called Vamoose? Has anyone here had any experience with Vamoose?

If I do have to do another nasty cleanup like this, I would try to use a garden sprayer and a wet vac. It would probably also go along easier with 2 people, one spraying (and brushing if need be) and the other vacuuming the solution up. Even though the wet vac makes the surface very dry, I would wait until the next day to start with repairs or painting. 

Having the right wet vac and squeegee attachment really helps! My 2 cents.

futtyos


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

Pat_The_Painter said:


> I have very little experience with painting homes that have had a cigarette smoker present. I went on an estimate yesterday and the home owner smokes and is looking to put her house on the market and have the whole thing repainted to cover up the smell(3 story town house). She is not a heavy smoker and no smoke stains are on the walls but you can definitely tell she smokes. It is currently a shell white color with very little damage/scuffs to all areas. I told her we need to recoat everything and 1 coat would be sufficient with using the Super Paint from SW. Will one coat be sufficient to cover the smell? Should I be priming everything with a shellac primer first?


I just went on an estimate today that involves cigarette smoke in a 3 bedroom house that the children of the former owner want to put up for sale. Right after taking photos and making notes, I went to my local janitorial supply house to inquire about that 2 part peroxide restaurant ceiling cleaner I mentioned above in this thread. The owner of the supply house told me what chemical to clean the ceilings, walls, trim and everything else that smoke has stuck to and walked me straight to where his smoke odor sealer was. He was very matter of fact that his smoke damage contractors come in and buy this sealer that comes in either clear or white. He said that it covers and contains the odor of cig smoke, period! The product is called Recon and is made by Fiberlock. Here is a link:

http://www.fiberlock.com/restoration/3090.html

This product is water based and is supposed to do the job BIN does and do it better, at least according to this video advert:






I just found out about this product today. Does anyone here know anything about this? As is the OP, I am now trying to find a sure-fire (no pun intended) way to get rid of cig smoke and odor so a house will sell with minimum problems.

futtyos


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