Saturday, June 25, 2011

Unintended Consequences... An Observation


What you see above is M'Lady's new bonnet... a well-engineered, well-fitting replacement for The Green Hornet's factory-installed top which lasted nearly 11 years, a testimonial to the longevity and general wonderfulness of the manufacturer's original equipment.  But the sensory experience is incomplete because what you cannot experience is the overwhelming, pervasive, fetid, and VERY obnoxious chemical smell emanating from said bonnet, which is overpowering... to say the very least.  I just stepped outdoors to move the sprinkler and that stench washed over me at a distance of some 20 feet... made worse, no doubt, because of our 104 degree ambient temperature.

I have hopes the smell will recede (if not vanish completely) with time and I have NO one to blame for this unfortunate occurrence other than myself, as I let the good people who replaced my top talk me into an OEM replacement to save a few bucks... the savings bein' substantial, indeed... as opposed to the cost of an original Mazda-sourced item.  The downside could not possibly have been foreseen so I just have to live with it, even though the smell makes me want to puke when I get into the car.  It's that strong and that offensive, Gentle Reader.

Sigh.  It's always frickin' sumthin', innit?

10 comments:

  1. Darn about the smell, Buck. My boss had a new car that she had to drive with windows open for two years.

    Maybe this will help?
    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f16f464/0

    Good luck!

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  2. When I wanted a leather sofa, my ex-wife said "I won't have the smell of cattle in my living room. This isn't Texas, thank God."

    Anyway, I'm in Texas, and her flowery sofa lasted a year before it was no longer comfortable.

    Women!

    I suspect that thing isn't leather, and that's why it smells like hot plastic :-)

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  3. Try washing the top with a mild detergent and wash rag. Wipe dry and leave the windows cracked.
    The smell will eventually leave. Been there done that with a Ford convert years ago. It does stink!

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  4. Sigh. It's always frickin' sumthin', innit?

    That's my life philosophy, dear Buck.

    I thought you were leading up to saying that the new bonnet had that wonderful new leather smell, or something good. What a shame. I'm really sensitive to chemical smells myself, so I feel your disappointment and annoyance.

    Our family trick for getting rid of smells is to put a paper towel soaked in vanilla extract in a bowl, and set the bowl in the offending area for several days. Sounds like you might need a gallon of vanilla though. :(

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  5. Bec: Thanks for that link. I'd already thought about the Febreze but I WILL do the incense thing, seein' as how I have a decent stock of good Indian sticks.

    Anon: I'm not aware of any leather convertible tops, unless they're one-offs owned by the Rich And Famous. I love leather furniture... nothing goes better with a good cigar than a leather wing-back chair.

    Ed: I've washed the top THREE times since it was installed with no joy.

    Sounds like you might need a gallon of vanilla though. :(

    Yeah, Red... it's VERY strong. Time, Febreze, and incense might help.

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  6. "I've washed the top THREE times since it was installed with no joy."

    Have you tried Joy?

    ...or maybe if you left one of those cigars you aren't so fond of smoldering...


    I know it's not nice to yank your chain, but I'd expect nothing less in return. After reading the post I felt quite fortunate that we didn't suffer the same sort of issues when we put the new top on Grandma Skip's Mustang. That would be the very same top that has only been lowered one time since we got it ...about four years ago.

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  7. A rat once deposited some dog food up in my motor. It smelled a bit like puke and chicken. I took it to the Toyota dealership and had it taken care of. Maybe the place that fixed the bonnet has something for the stink.

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  8. See if you can rent an ozone generator. Car dealers use them to destenchify used cars.

    The Plastic in your top is still curing, that's my guess.

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  9. I expect the smell will dissipate with lots of high-speed open-window driving. Hope so for your sake, anyway.

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  10. That would be the very same top that has only been lowered one time since we got it ...about four years ago.

    Wow. I'm pretty sure my top is down more than it's up... when I'm drivin'.

    Lou: I'll see tomorrow, as I'm goin' back to have my driver's seat repaired. They couldn't do both seat and top last week.

    Daaryl: An ozone generator seems like a "shotgun to kill a fly" approach...

    Jim: Me, too.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.