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That customer who handed me a 50 year old Polaroid with a rusted battery compartment
Guy walks into my shop last month with this beat up Polaroid 100 from 1965. Said his mom used it at his birthday parties and it had been sitting in a damp basement since 1988. I cleaned the contacts with white vinegar and a q-tip, popped in fresh batteries, and the shutter fired right up. Has anyone else had luck reviving old battery corrosion with something weird like lemon juice?
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charlie_allen3mo ago
Tried lemon juice on a corroded battery terminal in an old Kodak once and ended up with what looked like a tiny crime scene investigation in my living room. Your mileage may vary but I'm glad the vinegar worked for you.
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craig.tessa3mo ago
Oh man, baking soda paste sounds like it would've been way smarter than my lemon juice adventure. I ended up with this weird yellowish foam creeping all over the table, and for a solid five minutes I thought I'd made a bomb. The worst part was the smell - like someone mixed a citrus candle with burnt electronics and then set it on fire. At least the vinegar approach seems more... contained.
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graym493mo ago
tiny crime scene investigation" is exactly how I'd describe trying to clean battery gunk with anything that fizzy lol. I swear I saw someone on a camera repair forum swear by a paste of baking soda and water for old alkaline battery leaks, said it neutralized the acid better than vinegar.
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