Pro tip: Found a way to fix sticky aperture blades on old Pentax lenses

Last weekend I was working on a 50mm f1.4 Pentax lens from the 1970s and the blades were stuck open. I tried the usual lighter fluid trick but it didn't work. Then I remembered a tip from a guy named Mike at the camera show in Portland: use a tiny drop of naptha and actuate the blades 50 times with a toothpick. It worked like a charm after two tries. Has anyone else had luck with this method on sticky blades?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_lewis9214d ago

My buddy Dan tried naptha on a stuck 55mm Takumar and said it freed up in ten minutes.

barnes.kai14d ago

That actually lines up with something I read on a camera repair forum a few months back. Some guy was saying naptha works better than acetone or PB Blaster on old lens helicoids because it evaporates cleaner and doesn't gum up the grease as bad. He mentioned it's popular with guys who restore vintage Soviet lenses too, like the old Jupiter or Helios ones. I've got a stuck 50mm f1.4 that's been sitting in my drawer for two years, might have to give this a shot this weekend.