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The trick about lubricating old leaf shutters I wish I knew years ago
I was working on a Compur shutter from the 1950s last week. Sticky blades, slow speeds, the usual. I always used the standard naphtha rinse and a tiny drop of oil on the pivot points. But a guy at a camera swap in Portland told me to try a specific synthetic grease mixed with alcohol instead of oil. He said oil migrates over time and gums up the blades on these old leaf shutters. I tried it on a beat up Kodak Retina I had sitting around. The difference was immediate. The shutter fired clean at 1/500 for the first time in decades. Anyone else have a weird lubricant trick that actually works better than the standard stuff?
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jason_lewis31mo ago
That watch oil route @reed.skyler mentioned is actually a solid idea. I've messed around with using synthetic watch grease on the slower cam gears of a Compur and it held up way better than any sewing machine oil I tried before. The key is mixing it with a lighter solvent so it gets into the tight spots without leaving a thick residue. Have you tried diluting it with a bit of isopropyl before applying?
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violaramirez1mo ago
Nah, I tried the isopropyl trick once and it gummed up worse after a month. The alcohol evaporates too fast and leaves the grease uneven. I just clean the gears with naptha first and apply the watch oil straight. Seems to work better long term.
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