I think the fear of using a heat gun on old shutter curtains is overblown

I was working on a 1960s SLR in my shop last Tuesday, trying to fix a sticky cloth shutter. Everyone online says to never apply direct heat, but after three tries with lighter fluid didn't work, I carefully used my Weller heat gun on the lowest setting from about eight inches away for maybe ten seconds. The curtain relaxed perfectly and the timing went back to spec. I get the caution, but sometimes the gentle approach just doesn't cut it. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a stubborn vintage shutter?

3 comments

3 Comments

marywilson13d ago

That cautious advice exists for a reason, but it's a guideline, not a law. Some of those old lubricants just turn into glue over sixty years. A little gentle heat from a safe distance can be the only thing that softens them up without drowning the whole mechanism in solvent. It's all about control and knowing when the standard fix has already failed.

jennifer83313d ago

Reminds me of my buddy trying to fix his grandpa's old mantle clock. He soaked every gear in solvent for a week and it was still totally frozen solid. Finally, out of pure frustration, he carefully waved a hair dryer over the main spring from like a foot away for a few minutes. He said you could actually hear this tiny crackle and then the whole thing just loosened right up. Sometimes the textbook method just doesn't cut it with that ancient gunk.

linda_dixon4913d ago

My friend had a real boat anchor of a folding camera, shutter was completely seized. He tried every solvent under the sun for a month with zero movement. Out of pure desperation, he held a hair dryer on low heat about a foot from the curtain for maybe twenty seconds. There was a quiet little pop sound and the blades just snapped open. He was sweating bullets the whole time, but it worked perfectly and still does. That old grease had basically turned into cement.