Tried cleaning a shutter with lighter fluid and totally botched it

I was working on a beat-up Canon FTb from the 70s and thought I'd be clever using Ronsonol to free up a sticky shutter blade. The fluid melted some of the old lubricant into a gummy mess that spread across the whole curtain assembly. Has anyone else had a DIY cleaning go sideways like this or is it just me?}

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.betty1mo ago

You ever have one of those moments where you think you're being smart and it backfires that hard? Because I've definitely been there with other stuff. But honestly, lighter fluid on old shutter curtains sounds like a recipe for disaster from the start. Those 70s cameras have grease that's basically fossilized, and anything stronger than naptha will just turn it into sludge. I swear someone needs to put a sticky note on every vintage camera that says "WD40 and lighter fluid are lies, use Ronsonol or naptha instead".

the_spencer1mo ago

... but who actually reads those sticky notes anyway, right? I'm more curious about how many cameras you've seen that were straight up ruined by that stuff. Like, have you ever had someone bring in a shutter that was completely welded shut from the lighter fluid residue, or is it more of a slow death thing?