I want to paint the root of my van. It is a barn red right now - and I want to paint it something (much lighter). I have washed down all the areas that I will be painting - yet - keep getting a huge amount of yellow residue…it’s so strong it is coming right through the primer. This was a factory-worker passenger van. I’m wondering if I am seeing smoke residue (yuck) - or if this is paint coming off simply because it was low-quality to begin with. It seems that no amount of washing gets rid of it - this is the second or third time now that you see in the photos. If it’s smoke, then I need to up the cleaning game. If it’s paint bleeding off - that’s a different solution. Thoughts appreciated!
OK - well - I mentioned that it was the roof and that it was painted. The picture shows wood grain with screws in it - and I doubt that many people paint their roof red. I also mentioned that I was concerned this was cigarette smoke - so - I’m guessing that it would be assumed that cigarette smoke would stain the inside - not the outside of the van. So - I thought I was reasonably specific?
So - it’s the interior ceiling and it is made of luan or some such thing…very light weight.
Hello, so one way you could determine if it’s nicotine residue would be to ozone the heck out of a test area of the surface. If it’s old paint (which I doubt after reading your description) the ozone application will not effect it, but otherwise it should lighten the stain and then you’ll know it’s from smokers. Although they do sell little cans of pressurized ozone I recommend renting a portable ozone machine (the type car dealers or carpet cleaners use to dispel cigarette smoke smell) and run it pointed at one test area overnight. Good luck!
Sorry maybe I missed this but does it smell like cigarette smoke? Your rag looks pretty evenly colored and I would assume with cigarette smoke that I’ve seen in windows and what not very thick sticky tar like when it comes off not evenly coated like it’s wet.
I know the smell of cigarette smoke - but can’t detect any smell at this point. According to what I can find online, a combination of vinegar and baking soda mixed with warm water is good for cleaning old nicotine from walls…but no - no smell.
Years of nicotine residue buildup does not necessarily smell (if there’s been no smoking in the van for a while) but does indeed come off as a yellowish brown stain on a rag. Just talk to any Service Master or similar company employee that has had to clean this type of thing, or there’s probably YouTube videos. And yes, a vinegar solution will certainly help especially if you’ve ozoned the area (which breaks it down at a molecular level making it easier to clean).
