Chatted with a old timer at a shop in Pittsburgh last week - he said I was cleaning shutters wrong for years by using alcohol instead of lighter fluid

Was dropping off a box of lenses to be cleaned at this place that's been around since the 70s. The guy behind the counter, must have been 80 something, saw me scrubbing a sticky shutter blade and just goes "you're gonna dry out the lubricant doing that." He said use lighter fluid on a q tip instead, it evaporates clean without messing up the oil in the mechanism. Tried it on a old Pentax Spotmatic I had apart and it worked way better. Never even thought about it before. Has anyone else switched up their cleaning methods after talking to someone who's been doing this forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettymurphy12d ago

Oh, I used to think alcohol was the way to go too, but you're right - that old timer knew his stuff. I switched to lighter fluid after hearing similar advice and it really does make a difference on the sticky shutters.

maxm5012d ago

Been using lighter fluid on my shutters for years now, and @bettymurphy is spot on. It cuts through the old gummy residue way better than alcohol ever did... just be careful not to get it on the paint too much, it can take the finish off if you're not paying attention. I also heard that some folks mix it with a little vegetable oil to keep the wood from drying out, though I haven't tried that myself yet. The smell fades pretty quick too, which is nice.