Showerthought: I fixed a stuck shutter on a Minolta X-700 with a drop of lighter fluid

The curtain was dragging bad, and I was out of the proper solvent, so I tried a tiny bit of Ronsonol on a swab after reading an old forum post. It actually freed it up perfectly and the camera's been fine for a month now. Is using a non-specialized fluid like this ever okay in a pinch, or is it just asking for trouble down the line?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenm4913d ago

Kerosene on watch gears? That's the part that got me. Those tiny parts must have smelled like a lamp for weeks. Honestly, using lighter fluid on a camera shutter already sounds risky, but grandpa's methods were on another level. I guess if it moves and it shouldn't, you oil it, and if it doesn't move and it should, you solvent it, no matter what's in the garage. Just hope it doesn't eat through something important later.

elliotl2413d ago

I saw a guy on YouTube fix a squeaky bike chain with olive oil once. It worked for a few weeks. We're all just using what's on hand to keep old things running. My grandpa used to clean his watch gears with a drop of kerosene. Sometimes the old hacks work because they're simple. You just have to accept it might not last forever.