Watch out for that guy who says "just use lighter fluid" on sticky shutters

I ran into a guy at a camera show in Portland last month who swore lighter fluid was perfect for cleaning shutter blades. He said he'd been doing it for 20 years with no issues. I tried it on a spare Pentax K1000 and the residue gummed up the whole mechanism within a week. Now I'm stuck replacing the entire shutter assembly. Has anyone else had bad luck with lighter fluid on old leaf shutters?

3 comments

3 Comments

markh855d ago

Heard lighter fluid leaves a film that attracts dust over time.

jasonallen5d ago

Did you try wiping it off after or just let it dry?

lilya765d agoTop Commenter

Yeah that's real. @markh85 I tried lighter fluid once and my desk looked like crap after a month. Dust clings to it bad. Sticky mess. Switched to canned air and it's way cleaner. Just my experience though.