Just fixed a stuck shutter on a Pentax K1000 that had me stumped for days

A customer brought in the camera last week, saying the shutter button wouldn't press at all. I took the top plate off and saw the old lube had turned to glue, jamming the whole mechanism. After three tries with different solvents, a tiny drop of naphtha on the right lever finally got things moving. Cleaned and re-lubed it, and now it sounds perfect. What's your go-to method for freeing up old, sticky shutter assemblies?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_olivia10d ago

Honestly, my go-to method is just a lot of quiet swearing and staring at the ceiling. Feels like half the battle is just getting the old gunk to let go without taking a tiny spring with it. I've had good luck with a tiny bit of lighter fluid on a toothpick for that kind of old grease, but it's always a gamble. You hit it with the right stuff and it frees up like magic, but use the wrong thing and you're just making a bigger mess. Glad the naphtha worked for you, that's a solid save.

coleman.karen10d ago

Know exactly what you mean about that quiet swearing phase, it's a required step in the process. I've lost count of how many tiny screws I've launched into another dimension by applying just a hair too much force. Your lighter fluid trick is a good one, I've used that in a pinch. Honestly, half my garage is just different cans of solvents for different jobs, and I still guess wrong half the time. There's no better feeling than when the right cleaner hits that crust and it just melts away clean.