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The retired tech who swore by lighter fluid for sticky shutters
An old timer at the meetup in Denver told me to flush a sticky leaf shutter with lighter fluid, called it the only fix that matters. I tried it on a beat up 1950s folder and it worked GREAT, but then I did it on a newer camera and the lubricant just pooled into the blades. Is this a dying trick or am I just using it wrong, anyone else had mixed luck with this?
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patricia3220d agoMost Upvoted
Hell, I read somewhere that lighter fluid eats modern lubricants, not worth the risk on new gear.
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I read a blog post once from a repair guy who said Ronsonol works great on older cameras with vegetable based greases, but anything made after 1980 uses synthetic stuff that just melts into a mess. That matches what you saw with the newer camera. @patricia32 is right about it eating modern lubricants, Ive seen that warning pop up in a few old forum threads too. The trick is knowing what decade your shutter was made in, and if its not pre-1970s, youre better off with a proper solvent or just cleaning the blades dry.
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