Tried cleaning a sticky shutter with a drop of lighter fluid on a cotton swab

I was working on an old Minolta SRT-101 and the first curtain was dragging. Used a tiny bit of Ronsonol on the edge of the curtain rail, and it freed up right away, no disassembly needed. Has anyone else had luck with this quick fix, or is it a bad idea for certain shutter types?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar13d ago

Lighter fluid on a camera shutter sounds crazy to me.

the_sean13d ago

I used to think that was nuts too, but it actually works on old cloth shutters. Just a tiny drop on the sticky spot can get things moving again.

hugo_nelson13d ago

That's a great way to ruin a perfectly good camera. Lighter fluid leaves behind a gummy residue as it dries, which will just make the shutter stick worse in a few months. It can also degrade old lubricants and damage certain types of shutter curtain material. You're basically putting a temporary band-aid on a problem that needs a proper clean and re-lube. Save the lighter fluid for your Zippo and find a real repair guide.