Old timer at the repair shop near Austin told me to stop using compressed air on shutters

He said I was blasting dust deeper into the gears and since I switched to a soft brush and vacuum method my shutter cleanings have lasted over 6 months longer on average, anyone else had a repair shop guru change their basic habits?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.lee10d ago

...and the thing is, I bet that old timer has been fixing shutters since before compressed air was even a thing in every shop. He's probably seen a hundred people blast crap deeper into a leaf shutter and then blame the camera when it jams up a week later. I switched to the brush and vacuum method about two years ago after a similar talk with a guy who worked on Rolleiflexes for 40 years. Now I just take the lens board off, use a soft paintbrush on the blades, and hit it with a computer duster with a little tube attachment. It's way slower than the air gun but my Hasselblad hasn't needed a real service since.

noaht1510d ago

Man, that's exactly what I ended up doing too after ruining a beat up old Mamiya press lens trying to be lazy with compressed air. I went through a whole phase where I'd just blast everything with a can of duster and wonder why things got sticky. Switching to a little artist brush and a vacuum with a soft brush head saved me so much hassle. It takes twice as long but I haven't had to send anything out for a cleaning since, so I'll take the trade off.

adamk959d ago

Man, you're spot on about the old timer thing. I had a similar wake-up call from a guy who fixed leaf shutters for decades, and he said the same thing - that compressed air just pushes grit into the pivot points where it does the most damage. Makes perfect sense when you think about it, but nobody tells you that when you're starting out. Now I do exactly what you described, a soft brush and a vacuum with a narrow tip, and I even use a little air puffer bulb for the stubborn bits instead of canned duster. The extra time is annoying but my gear just feels smoother now, especially on older lenses where the grease gets a little sticky.