A trick for cleaning old shutter blades that actually works

I had a Pentax K1000 with sticky blades last week and tried using lighter fluid first, like some old guides say. It just left a film and the problem came back in two days. Then I switched to pure isopropyl alcohol and a tiny brush, cleaning each blade one by one. The shutter has been firing clean for over a week now. What do you all use for really gunked up leaf shutters?

3 comments

3 Comments

eva_adams681mo agoTop Commenter

Did you ever hear about the guy who tried cleaning his old Agfa with WD-40? My friend did that, said it was a miracle fix for about ten clicks. Then the whole mechanism turned into a slow, gummy mess. He ended up having to take it apart again and wash every single part in pure alcohol to get that oily residue off. It was a real lesson in using the right solvent.

the_wren25d ago

Oh man, that's such a classic trap! I feel like people do this with all sorts of things, not just cameras. You see someone online saying "WD-40 fixes everything" and you just go for it without thinking. It's like using duct tape on a leaky pipe - sure it might hold for a bit but you're just making a bigger mess for later. I've seen folks use it on squeaky bike chains too and it just attracts dirt like crazy until the whole drivetrain is a gritty paste. The whole world runs on that same idea of using the wrong shortcut because it works for five minutes, then you pay for it twice as much later.

logan2361mo ago

Oh man, I did the EXACT same thing to an old Kodak once, total nightmare!