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Realized my cleaning method was stripping shutter blades
Was fixing a Canon AE-1 last month. Used isopropyl alcohol on the shutter blades like I always did. After the third clean, they started sticking. Buddy told me it was dissolving the coating. Now I use dry Q-tips and an air bulb only. Anyone else screw up their early repairs this way?
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kelly.dylan27d ago
Yeah I did the same thing with my Pentax, thought I was being thorough and just wrecked the blades.
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schmidt.grace26d ago
Wait, you actually ruined your blades? That's what I was worried about but I always figured if you were gentle enough you could avoid it. I used to think dry cleaning was totally fine for leaf shutters, like a quick blast of air and a soft brush never hurt anything. But after reading your story @kelly.dylan, I'm totally rethinking my whole approach now. I guess those blades are way more delicate than they look, and the tiniest bit of grit can mess them up for good. I'm glad I saw this before I tried anything stupid on my own gear.
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