Freshen insufferable smoking stench

Dear Mike: What do you recommend to neutralize or eliminate cigarette smell in a car that has been used by a heavy smoker?

— T. B., via Internet

A: I’d start by removing the floor mats and having them washed at a car wash. Shampoo the seats, carpets and headliner with a commercial carpet shampooer, the kind that sprays water and vacuums it up. Thoroughly wash the windows and all the plastic interior pieces with a mild detergent solution.

If that’s still not good enough, look in the Yellow Pages under “cleaning services” for an establishment that specializes in insurance cleanup of buildings that have had fires. Rent an ozone generator from them for the weekend. This will kill any remaining odor.

Dear Mike: I have a 1995 Dodge Spirit. A couple of months ago the digital clock on the stereo started to show some extra lines in the display. Also, a day after using the defroster, I pushed the button to turn the air back to the vents from the defroster outlets, but air continued to blow on the windshield. Now the clock is working properly, and the fuses are OK.

— B.P., Tenafly, N.J.

A: The actuator for the air door under the dash that switches between defrost and vent is vacuum-powered. The clock is electrical. Aside from gremlins, I can’t see any connection between the two. Either the actuator is broken, disconnected or jammed, or the vacuum that moves it is leaking. This should be a straightforward fix once you start poking around under the dash.

The clock on the stereo? Blame gremlins. If it persists, the fix is to yank it out and get it repaired at a stereo shop.

Dear Mike: A while back I bought a Toyota Tundra. One night the mosquitoes were really bad and the whole front of the truck was covered with them, even the windshield. I went out the next morning and used a sponge, dish soap and warm water to remove them. Unfortunately I used the kind of sponge with the hard green scrubbing pad on one side, and now the paint and windshield are scratched.

Do I need to get the truck repainted and the windshield replaced? Or is there a wax that will fill the scratches?

— Mike Decker, Deltona, Fla.

A: First, the paint. You may be able to compound out the scratches if they are faint. If you’re all thumbs, you may want to take the vehicle to a professional detailer. Or just buy a jar of rubbing compound, grab an old T-shirt for a rag, and try it yourself. The worst-case scenario is that the scratches go through the clearcoat into the pigment, and you’ll have to respray. You’ll probably be able to improve the appearance substantially, however.

The windshield scratches probably can be polished out. This involves using a cerium oxide abrasive on a water-saturated felt wheel at a low speed. Again, you may want to farm this out to a glass shop, to be done by someone who knows what they are doing.

Oh, and save the dish sponges and soap for the kitchen.