I used to think a $30 ultrasonic cleaner was fine for shutter blades

For years I cleaned old leaf shutters in a cheap cleaner from Harbor Freight. Last month a guy at the Seattle camera swap said his $150 unit from Crest gets parts cleaner in half the time. I tried his on a stuck Compur from a Rolleiflex, and the blades came out spotless with zero residue. My cheap one always left a film. Anyone else made the jump to a better cleaner for delicate parts?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_wright6d ago

Turns out the Harbor Freight special is basically a fancy jewelry cleaner for your shutter blades. Mine just gave them a nice bath in greasy film water. That Crest unit sounds like it actually does the job you thought you were paying for. Classic case of getting what you pay for, I guess. Now I'm stuck wondering how many shutters I "cleaned" that just got a new layer of gunk.

theaward6d ago

My buddy bought one of those cheap cleaners for his old camera parts... he was so proud of the bubbles. Showed me a shutter he'd "restored" and it was basically glued shut with a new film of soap scum. He had to soak the whole thing in lighter fluid to get it apart again. The look on his face when he realized he'd made it worse was just sad. He ended up finding a used industrial cleaner at a flea market that actually works.