Favorite smells in the shop

[chunkypeanutbutter]

I work a lot in the shop. Whether it be the garage in our house, the workroom for models, downstairs on the train layout, or in the metal or wood shops at school, there are all sorts of great smells in there. Some of the best ones I think are....

- soldering

- welding (yes, I know that without proper ventilation they are poisonous, but it smells good)

- Tamiya paint, got a weird sweet smell to it

- WD-40

- Safety-Kleen degreaser machines

Any others?

[Adhsdad]

I like the smell of lacquer paints and fingernail polishes and also Testor's tube glue. I like the smell or diferent smells of models while I'm viewing them at a contest too.

[Old Nasty]

I admit I like the smell of Squadron green filler putty. As far as the real world goes, nothing beats the aroma of 110 octane race fuel.

[CJ1971]

Seriously?

[checkmate]

Seriously?

x2

Got to agree with you on this one. (First time for everything)

[rmvw guy]

Paint always has smelled like perfume to me. I have always loved the smell of new rubber in a tire store or better yet at the drag strip. This sounds like a confession thread to me. lol Yeah seriously.

[checkmate]

Yeah Brakekleen and tyre smoke smell great but I wouldn't make a regular habit of inhaling either.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I vastly prefer the smells of a woodworking shop to anything in the mechanical or model shop. I think I'll retire, move to Maine, and build wooden boats.

Then there were the long-ago days my significant other would would come in the shop to visit while I was working. I can still smell her just-showered-girl-with-an-over-layer-of-Chanel if I close my eyes...

Edited August 26, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[ZTony8]

The sugary sweet smell of Testor transparent red paint.Oddly appealing even if the paint is a patience tester to apply.

[JTalmage]

I love the smell of engines. The smell of grease/oil/gasoline all together. I miss working at various auto parts stores, whether they had a shop or not, and delivering auto parts to shops. All the smells of the different shops like if it was a trans shop or a general repair shop.

Dunno why I ever got in to IT.

Did a PC move for a company recently that converts diesel engines into fire extinguishers. Yes. They use the engines as to power the pumps for office buildings and stuff like that. They also do repairs on diesel trucks, in-house dyno, the whole nine yards. I didnt want to leave it smelled soo good in there.

[Harry P.]

I love the smell of napalm in the morning...

[Rob Hall]

The smell of coffee brewing..

[Ace-Garageguy]

I love the smell of napalm in the morning...

Don't get much of that these days.

I wonder if one of the air-freshener purveyors bottled it and called it "Morning Napalm Mist" or something, if they'd get many buyers.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The smell of coffee brewing..

Oh yeah, and breakfast...on Saturday morning, the smell of the neighbors cooking sometimes wafts in to the shop. Lovely.

Reminds me of when I wasn't the only one in the house. Ah, there's that Chanel again...

[johnbuzzed]

Diesel exhaust, be it from a deuce and a half, a backhoe or a boat. Hot metal. Fried electronic components. Two-cycle exhaust, with the gas/oil mixture. Testors liquid cement. Testors small, square bottle enamels always bring me back to the early '60's...

[Ace-Garageguy]

Every now and then, I'll run across an old bottle of Testors "dope", paint for wooden model airplanes. Takes me back to when my Dad was building models...

Edited August 26, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Brett Barrow]

Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Love it. When I lack the inspiration to work on models all I have to do is open a bottle... Personal life stuff has gotten in the way for the past few months, but I'm moving later this week the thing I'm looking forward to the most is getting the workbench back up and getting to building again, it's been quite a while - I haven't painted anything in over a year, just piddled here and there.

[vintagedragcrazy]

collectors don't read this but i got a good one the smell of a 40 year old model mint in box after you tear off the plastic

vince

[Harry P.]

Don't get much of that these days.

I wonder if one of the air-freshener purveyors bottled it and called it "Morning Napalm Mist" or something, if they'd get many buyers.

Call it "Victory"...

[Agent G]

That "machine shop smell" of a warship while underway.

G

[Danno]

Many, many, many . . . way too many . . . years ago when a teenager, my buddies and I were privileged to use the back half of a large shop for our automotive shenanigans. The place belonged to my best friend's father and it served his heating/air conditioning business during the day but our 'speed shop' at night.

Best thing was . . . it was a half-block from the local Wonder Bread bakery. When we were working in 'the shop' in the middle of the night, those guys at the huge bakery would be cranking out fresh bread in copious quantities. That aroma permeated the neighborhood and drove us crazy. Eventually we discovered the 'back door' and some amused but kindly night shift guys flipped us each a hot loaf.

Wow. Even without butter that was outstanding melt-in-your mouth snacking! To this day, the combined aromas of degreaser, fresh motor oil and hot, fresh bread conjure up some great memories!

[slusher]

Favorite smell has to be my wife's perfume when she comes in the model room. 2nd a freshly painted body as it gasses out ...

[Pete J.]

Interesting topic! I am currently taking a course called Fundamentals of Instruction from the FAA and they say that we get the vast majority of our sensory input from sight and hearing with smell and taste coming in last. Having said that, nothing takes you back to a place in your past quicker that a unique smell. Harry, you mentioned napalm perhaps jokingly perhaps not, but if I smell burnt jet fuel, I am instantly transported back to the flight line. Interestingly, I was at an airshow not long ago and had the chance to do a walk through of my old aircraft and is smells the same. A mix of plastic, JP-4, hydraulic fluid and other smells, but I felt instantly at home. Smell is a very strong stimulus to the memory.

[unclescott58]

Construction paper. Always takes me back to fond memory of elementary school.

Scott

[Brett Barrow]

Interesting topic! I am currently taking a course called Fundamentals of Instruction from the FAA and they say that we get the vast majority of our sensory input from sight and hearing with smell and taste coming in last. Having said that, nothing takes you back to a place in your past quicker that a unique smell. Harry, you mentioned napalm perhaps jokingly perhaps not, but if I smell burnt jet fuel, I am instantly transported back to the flight line. Interestingly, I was at an airshow not long ago and had the chance to do a walk through of my old aircraft and is smells the same. A mix of plastic, JP-4, hydraulic fluid and other smells, but I felt instantly at home. Smell is a very strong stimulus to the memory.

I've always heard that smell is connected to our memory more than any other sense.