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Talked to an old Leica repair guy at a garage sale in Ohio and he totally changed how I clean shutters

He said I was ruining shutters by using isopropyl alcohol because it strips the lubrication over time. He swore by naphtha lighter fluid for years. Tried it on a sticky Copal shutter yesterday and it worked way better. Anyone else use something weird for cleaning?
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3 Comments
casey682
casey6821mo ago
Is alcohol really that bad though? I've used it for years without issues.
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noaht15
noaht151mo ago
Wait, you've been drinking for years and you don't think it's done any damage at all? I mean, that's kind of wild.
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bell.felix
bell.felix1mo ago
Oh man, naphtha is the real deal. I had an old repair guy tell me the same thing like ten years ago and I never went back. Alcohol dries stuff out and leaves residue if you're not careful. Lighter fluid evaporates clean and doesn't mess with the grease. I've been using it on all my Compur and Copal shutters since then and they've been buttery smooth.
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