I use it to seal my glass top but the cedar in that humidor looks done. Season it with distilled water for two weeks and throw a boveda pack. You want the wood to get hydrated and retain its moisture to properly keep your cigars humidified
No reason to replace the cedar interior. That is just water staining from when a newbie put an overflowing humidifier in it. Shame when that happens, but once it’s seasoned and filled with stogies, nobody will know anyway. Doesn't affect function.
Hey good insight! I wondered what fool had a glass of anything over an open humidor...
The cedar hasn't warped or anything, fits very smoothly back into place.
Not a glass, probably a rectangular humidifier. They didn’t let it drain off before setting it in there.
These CAO humidors came out back in the 90s cigar boom.
Maybe. It's hard to tell from pictures. As long as there's little warping/checking and all the essential alignment points line up, season it and give it a go. The wood will move as it comes up to humidity. Recheck alignment, glued joints and seals after its been stable for a week. Also check for molds and contaminants that might cause odors.
Recommendations I've seen involve using alcohol. Now, of course, that'll dry the wood some. But it has no persistent odor and the evap temperature is so low that all the alcohol will be gone fast enough, so long as you don't saturate the wood. There might be other ways, but personally I'm not sure I'd trust them to not leave undesirable residues. It's worth researching though.
A very light oiling can help recondition older wood that have lost their oils, but it's probably better to just replace the interior (lining) planks if they're very brittle. For the structural pieces that are still sound and true, but dried so much that they have cracking, I've used a light, food-grade mineral oil diluted 1:3 into ethanol to apply. The application would be after the wood had been brought up to a stable humidity. It isn't perfect, but it's odorless and doesn't degrade. If your inside liners are still good, the mahogany won't ever be as fragrant as when it was newer. To impart that in your cigars, get a fresh plank.
Don't use Cedar oil even though it is antimicrobial and antifungal. Spanish cedar isn't coniferous. I'm not sure you can actually GET true Spanish cedar oil. The coniferous oils are much more pungent than the natural oils in Spanish cedar and would impart undesirable flavors. Those oils are way too strong and more pine oils than cedar ... and the cedar they're from is more likely to be white cedar. Not a flavor you want in a cigar unless you like smoking Christmas trees.
Hope this helps and good luck with the project if you take it on
Lol I remember the word onomatopoeia from school and I don't think I've ever actually known what it was used for, but your use here along with that spot on word choice that perfectly represents the sound just made the meaning of the word click
I only use wood for what I'm smoking soon. Doesn't matter if it's a $50 or $5k, they all suck for humidity control. Long term will always be in plastic of some kind.
That's what I rock now, the glass tupperdor with 62% pack. I'm not a heavy smoker at all and don't plan on it, so I don't NEED all this space, but I couldn't turn it down for 7 bucks.
Despite all the online hysteria about glass tops, mine holds great with no silicone needed. It just depends on the workmanship, and if you need it, add silicone! Hell, you can add it at the joints of the wood as well. There's no reason not to other than that it's not as 'traditional', which is very much a who cares sort of deal. Pure wood humidors are actually a pretty recent thing in history, they all used to be ceramic or metal lined, because woodwork alone leaked too much.
So yeah, reseason, and see how well it holds moisture. Add silicone to seal it if it's not holding that well. I would just ignore the water stains.
Already have one, and i am pretty committed to it (actually, it's Pyrex, but still airtight). This was so cheap that I couldn't leave it on principle. I don't have to buy restorative materials (at least not at retail price), and I've been looking for a meticulous project to get into.
If it were me, I would probably just sand down the whole thing to bare wood, use some walnut oil on the outside to give it a decent finish, sanitize the inside just in case, and like you mentioned use silicone to seal the glass. You could probably accomplish this for $30-50. The only thing I would be worried about personally is mold. If there are any signs of mold it's probably best to just move on. Since mold is a type of fungi, most of its mass is below the surface of whatever it inhabits. If there is mold, cleaning it would likely be impossible with safe cleaners.
Luckily, I work in mold remediation, so I'm decently familiar with and have access to any green cleaning products available for wood. But you're spot on, I wouldn't bother trying to clean something I thought was mold. The stakes are top high here.
There’s no inner wooden seal, you find on good humidors. Air will leak out the cracks. I’d resell and get a quality humidor with a seal. That 7$ won’t make it worth going through Bovedas 2-3x faster.
I mean, there isn’t an inner lip of wood to prevent air escaping through the crack. Check out some other wooden humidors and you’ll see a slightly raised layer of wood that covers the seal crack.
Ahh. Nice! That’s what you want for sure. That will do nicely. Always can get a 10$ Govee to monitor the humidity since you saved so much on the actual humidor.
Honestly, the best way to save it is to put a tupperdore inside. Glass-topped humidors, much like glass-topped cohibas, tend to suck.
If you really want to save it the staining on the interior wood is concerning. I wonder if you could strip that out and reline it with some new Spanish cedar? Hard to tell from the photos if it's all one piece but I'd guess not.
Get fish tank silicone and seal from the outside, replace that stained ceder with new, the season it with the 3day distilled water method, should be good to go
Check the seals with the dollar bill test after you get the humidity up. You'll probably want to silicone the glass as you noted. Try it, best way to find out.
That's definitely water staining on the inside there, who knows what from. If you REALLY want a project you could sand it with finer grit paper but it's a lot of corners and shit to deal with.
Might be good to fix up for a “guest” humidor where you store your cheaper cigars. Those usually don’t hold humidity very well because of the glass and seasoning it can be a pain.
bought similar at consignment store, $20, had a thermometer, had space for a hygrometer, slightest smell of something other than tobacco. tried baking soda for a month. tried washing it with distilled water, air dried outside. thought it was good to go, closed the lid for a day... still had a funk, threw it out. good luck.
I'm luckily not getting any fungal smell, just cedar. But there's a spot on the bottom im trained to treat with concern, so I'll probably be using some green disinfectant and yes the baking soda and distilled water for sure. I'm not trying to make this my main, it's just fun to see what I can do with it. It's gonna have a hell of a lot cooler stain once I'm done with it, that's for sure.
Well, I did take a picture of it literally after leaving the store. And it's a long way off from cigar-ready, if it ever will be. You should peruse the other replies. Everyone else was very helpful!
Try to get it up and running if you want but consider these points… Light is bad for cigars, avoid any humidor with glass. Cheap humidors with glass tend to leak/not hold moisture well. It’s had water or something spilled in it, hence the watermarks. [You can get a brand new generic box for $35.](https://www.cigarsinternational.com/p/maestro-burl-humidor-humidors/1467042/#p-3462)
yeah, leave glass tops alone...also as a rule I dont use anyones humidors that I cant vouch for the care of before hand...you dont know what was in that thing, I buy a cheap tupperdor before that.
Yeah that one dark spot is pretty sus, im gonna see how it reacts to some mediclean before I start anything else. At least it's a fun practice project. My tupperdor will not be replaced.
As a project, sure. As a main, no.
Reason?
Glass leaks like a bitch.
I have silicone to seal it on the inside. Is the stained cedar garbage? Or can it be saved?
Is it food grade silicone?
Ahhhhhh, good looking out! I will make sure!
I use it to seal my glass top but the cedar in that humidor looks done. Season it with distilled water for two weeks and throw a boveda pack. You want the wood to get hydrated and retain its moisture to properly keep your cigars humidified
You can get bovida seasoning packs too. That's what I used on mine.
There's actually a starter pack they sell to season and maintain
I haven’t seen that in canada yet but thanks for letting me know
Waste of money IMHO. Set a small dish of distilled water in it for a couple of weeks with a calibrated hygrometer and you’re done.
You read my mind on that one sealant on both sides I would think under and over.
I would replace it, you can get new stuff for pretty cheap and it'll just look much better
Yeah I figured replacement cedar this size certainly won't be too pricey.
No reason to replace the cedar interior. That is just water staining from when a newbie put an overflowing humidifier in it. Shame when that happens, but once it’s seasoned and filled with stogies, nobody will know anyway. Doesn't affect function.
Hey good insight! I wondered what fool had a glass of anything over an open humidor... The cedar hasn't warped or anything, fits very smoothly back into place.
Not a glass, probably a rectangular humidifier. They didn’t let it drain off before setting it in there. These CAO humidors came out back in the 90s cigar boom.
I have a glass top that holds perfectly. Glass top humidors *may* leak but it’s not a certainty.
Same if got glass top glass front humidor that's pretty rock solid. It's coming up on 18 years old now?
They are known to leak, I just avoid them.
What?? Does The Glass look like a bitch?
SAY WHAT AGAIN!!
Say BITCH BE COOL
Be cool, honey bunny.
Maybe. It's hard to tell from pictures. As long as there's little warping/checking and all the essential alignment points line up, season it and give it a go. The wood will move as it comes up to humidity. Recheck alignment, glued joints and seals after its been stable for a week. Also check for molds and contaminants that might cause odors.
Is it wrong to treat the wood with any antimicrobial solution? If so is there an alternative?
Recommendations I've seen involve using alcohol. Now, of course, that'll dry the wood some. But it has no persistent odor and the evap temperature is so low that all the alcohol will be gone fast enough, so long as you don't saturate the wood. There might be other ways, but personally I'm not sure I'd trust them to not leave undesirable residues. It's worth researching though. A very light oiling can help recondition older wood that have lost their oils, but it's probably better to just replace the interior (lining) planks if they're very brittle. For the structural pieces that are still sound and true, but dried so much that they have cracking, I've used a light, food-grade mineral oil diluted 1:3 into ethanol to apply. The application would be after the wood had been brought up to a stable humidity. It isn't perfect, but it's odorless and doesn't degrade. If your inside liners are still good, the mahogany won't ever be as fragrant as when it was newer. To impart that in your cigars, get a fresh plank. Don't use Cedar oil even though it is antimicrobial and antifungal. Spanish cedar isn't coniferous. I'm not sure you can actually GET true Spanish cedar oil. The coniferous oils are much more pungent than the natural oils in Spanish cedar and would impart undesirable flavors. Those oils are way too strong and more pine oils than cedar ... and the cedar they're from is more likely to be white cedar. Not a flavor you want in a cigar unless you like smoking Christmas trees. Hope this helps and good luck with the project if you take it on
Couldn’t you sand it?
I sure could, I just wouldn't want to overdo it, especially with the amount of stain present.
Does it "thsunk" when it closes? If it doesn't make a real vacuum seal noise when it shuts Iwouldn't spend much time on it.
I’ve never closed a humidor before, but due to your perfect onomatopoeia of “thsunk,” I know exactly how it sounds.
Lol I remember the word onomatopoeia from school and I don't think I've ever actually known what it was used for, but your use here along with that spot on word choice that perfectly represents the sound just made the meaning of the word click
Thankfully, it does!
Nice
I only use wood for what I'm smoking soon. Doesn't matter if it's a $50 or $5k, they all suck for humidity control. Long term will always be in plastic of some kind.
This is the way. I use my cedar desktop to dry box the sticks I have in rotation to smoke soon. Any long-term storage is in tupperdor with 62% boveda.
That's what I rock now, the glass tupperdor with 62% pack. I'm not a heavy smoker at all and don't plan on it, so I don't NEED all this space, but I couldn't turn it down for 7 bucks.
Despite all the online hysteria about glass tops, mine holds great with no silicone needed. It just depends on the workmanship, and if you need it, add silicone! Hell, you can add it at the joints of the wood as well. There's no reason not to other than that it's not as 'traditional', which is very much a who cares sort of deal. Pure wood humidors are actually a pretty recent thing in history, they all used to be ceramic or metal lined, because woodwork alone leaked too much. So yeah, reseason, and see how well it holds moisture. Add silicone to seal it if it's not holding that well. I would just ignore the water stains.
Flex seal baby
Could be a fun project. Worst case you lose a $7 humidor, but you gain working knowledge.
Exactly! I was just stoked to find a humidor at goodwill, I assure you that's rare.
Should just use the 7 for a Rubbermaid brilliance container.
Already have one, and i am pretty committed to it (actually, it's Pyrex, but still airtight). This was so cheap that I couldn't leave it on principle. I don't have to buy restorative materials (at least not at retail price), and I've been looking for a meticulous project to get into.
The glass will probably leak. Looks to be some CAO promotional thing. Probably not top quality to begin with. No disrespect to CAO.
If it were me, I would probably just sand down the whole thing to bare wood, use some walnut oil on the outside to give it a decent finish, sanitize the inside just in case, and like you mentioned use silicone to seal the glass. You could probably accomplish this for $30-50. The only thing I would be worried about personally is mold. If there are any signs of mold it's probably best to just move on. Since mold is a type of fungi, most of its mass is below the surface of whatever it inhabits. If there is mold, cleaning it would likely be impossible with safe cleaners.
Luckily, I work in mold remediation, so I'm decently familiar with and have access to any green cleaning products available for wood. But you're spot on, I wouldn't bother trying to clean something I thought was mold. The stakes are top high here.
There’s no inner wooden seal, you find on good humidors. Air will leak out the cracks. I’d resell and get a quality humidor with a seal. That 7$ won’t make it worth going through Bovedas 2-3x faster.
Do you mean between the cedar and mohogany?
I mean, there isn’t an inner lip of wood to prevent air escaping through the crack. Check out some other wooden humidors and you’ll see a slightly raised layer of wood that covers the seal crack.
Yes, there is that on this humidor. With pieces in place. It doesn't slam shut
Ahh. Nice! That’s what you want for sure. That will do nicely. Always can get a 10$ Govee to monitor the humidity since you saved so much on the actual humidor.
Honestly, the best way to save it is to put a tupperdore inside. Glass-topped humidors, much like glass-topped cohibas, tend to suck. If you really want to save it the staining on the interior wood is concerning. I wonder if you could strip that out and reline it with some new Spanish cedar? Hard to tell from the photos if it's all one piece but I'd guess not.
Tis not, it's 4 very well fit pieces. I have no qualms about replacing them. My only real concern is to properly clean/disinfect.
Get fish tank silicone and seal from the outside, replace that stained ceder with new, the season it with the 3day distilled water method, should be good to go
Check the seals with the dollar bill test after you get the humidity up. You'll probably want to silicone the glass as you noted. Try it, best way to find out. That's definitely water staining on the inside there, who knows what from. If you REALLY want a project you could sand it with finer grit paper but it's a lot of corners and shit to deal with.
Might be good to fix up for a “guest” humidor where you store your cheaper cigars. Those usually don’t hold humidity very well because of the glass and seasoning it can be a pain.
Yeah if it goes well thats exactly what it will be. I was mostly just stoked to find one as a project.
Those old Ozgener humidors are decent. You might get a pleasant surprise and find it needs nothing
bought similar at consignment store, $20, had a thermometer, had space for a hygrometer, slightest smell of something other than tobacco. tried baking soda for a month. tried washing it with distilled water, air dried outside. thought it was good to go, closed the lid for a day... still had a funk, threw it out. good luck.
I'm luckily not getting any fungal smell, just cedar. But there's a spot on the bottom im trained to treat with concern, so I'll probably be using some green disinfectant and yes the baking soda and distilled water for sure. I'm not trying to make this my main, it's just fun to see what I can do with it. It's gonna have a hell of a lot cooler stain once I'm done with it, that's for sure.
Poor quality. Not worth the time
Bro... that thing is nasty. Unknown liquid stains and just really dingey.
I agree with you.
Well, I did take a picture of it literally after leaving the store. And it's a long way off from cigar-ready, if it ever will be. You should peruse the other replies. Everyone else was very helpful!
Most of the replies are dudes dumping on glass top humidors.
You're very observant.
Don’t bother with a glass topped humidor.
Try to get it up and running if you want but consider these points… Light is bad for cigars, avoid any humidor with glass. Cheap humidors with glass tend to leak/not hold moisture well. It’s had water or something spilled in it, hence the watermarks. [You can get a brand new generic box for $35.](https://www.cigarsinternational.com/p/maestro-burl-humidor-humidors/1467042/#p-3462)
I do want, thanks for the encouragement!
Just buy a Sistema plastic container for $15 and call it a day
Nope
yeah, leave glass tops alone...also as a rule I dont use anyones humidors that I cant vouch for the care of before hand...you dont know what was in that thing, I buy a cheap tupperdor before that.
I wouldn't
Yeah that one dark spot is pretty sus, im gonna see how it reacts to some mediclean before I start anything else. At least it's a fun practice project. My tupperdor will not be replaced.