Shutter curtain stuck after a humid weekend in Portland

I had a Pentax K1000 come in with the cloth shutter half-open, and it turned out the curtains had absorbed moisture and stuck together, probably from being stored in a damp garage. I tried gently separating them with a blower and a soft brush, but the fabric edge started to fray, so I stopped touching it. Has anyone else dealt with humidity-caused shutter adhesion, and is there a safe way to re-lubricate or seal the cloth without a full curtain replacement?

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coleman.christopher6d ago

Lost a Canonet to this exact thing last summer. Silicone spray on a q-tip, dab it along the rail where the curtain meets the metal, not the cloth itself. Let it sit for an hour, then work the shutter with the body cap on and the lens off. That freed mine up without touching the fabric at all. If the curtain is already frayed at the edge, you're looking at a reline job anyway, so don't stress about making it worse, just get it moving first.