Heard a guy at the camera swap meet mention isopropyl soak times

I was at the Portland swap meet last Saturday and this older repair guy was telling someone he soaks shutter blades in 99% isopropyl for exactly 4 minutes, no more. He said longer and the oil just redistributes instead of lifting off. I used to do 10 minutes and then wonder why my Ricoh shutter stuck again after a week. Tried his 4 minute soak on a Minolta I've been fighting with, then blew it dry with canned air. Worked clean so far through 20 test fires. Has anyone else tested different soak times on sticky blades? I'm curious if 3 or 5 minutes changes anything.

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the_olivia21d ago

Four minutes feels weirdly specific for something that's basically just soaking parts in alcohol. Most of us just eyeball it and call it good, so I'm not sure the exact time matters unless you're doing this every day. Good that it worked for you, but I'd bet the real fix was the air dry, not the 4 minute mark.