fiona_murray•12d agoProlific Poster

Old timer told me to use lighter fluid for shutter cleaning... what a mess

A retired repair guy named Pete at a camera show in Portland told me lighter fluid works great for cleaning shutter blades. I figured he'd been doing it for 40 years so he must know what he's talking about right? Tried it on a beat up Praktica MTL3 and the fluid left a weird residue that made the blades stick even worse. Had to take the whole shutter assembly apart again and scrub it with proper Ronsonol and a q-tip. Anyone else run into bad advice from the old school repair crowd that just doesn't work with modern gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

evand6512d ago

You tried Ronsonol and it still left residue? Man, that stuff used to be my go-to for everything sticky. I actually told a friend to use it on his old Nikon F last year. He ended up with blades that sounded like they were dragging through mud. That old timer's advice probably worked when shutters were all mechanical and built like tanks, but these newer ones with their coatings and tight tolerances just can't handle that harsh stuff. I switched to isopropyl alcohol 90% after that experience and haven't looked back. Sometimes what worked in the 70s just doesn't apply anymore.

diana_bell7412d ago

evand65 said 'sometimes what worked in the 70s just doesn't apply anymore' but come on, it's just lighter fluid not rocket science. I've used Ronsonol on dozens of old shutters from the 50s and 60s with zero issues, maybe people are just getting bad batches or not drying it long enough. Feels like half the problems I see online are from people overthinking a simple cleaning instead of just doing it right.