Back to the Mamiya RZ: a few questions

[pallo]

After many years, I decided to pull out my old Mamiya RZ. Not sure yet where I'm heading, but ideally also as a portrait camera. It's a camera I bought new in the late 90s and have no concerns about past use (I know how I used it), but still have some minor worries about putting it back to use.

First issue. I noticed that the locking mechanism for the focusing knob has become rather stiff. Is this something I can easily fix or should I just leave it unlocked?
Second issue. As one may expect, some of the rubber covering is now a bit sticky. Does anyone has good experiences with dealing with this issue? (been there with my old F90 as well)
Third issue. I replaced the old lithium battery with an alkaline battery. If I remember correctly, this should only affect battery life and not have an impact on the shutter speeds. Is that correct?

And, more generally, I believe I checked everything, but are there any known issues I should check for? (shutter works, diaphragm blades look clean)

thanks!

 

[Alexander6x6]

Second issue. As one may expect, some of the rubber covering is now a bit sticky. Does anyone has good experiences with dealing with this issue? (been there with my old F90 as well)

You should clean it with the 90% isopropyl solution.

 

[mpirie]

Another vote for Isopropyl alcohol to clean the rubber.

Mike

 

[Cheveuxroux]

I bought an RZ 67 new when Mamiya introduced the RZ67 Pro version.
FWIW I did not find sticky rubber on the exterior of the camera.
Only the film magazine seal as my film magazines are the initial version.

And, yes, another vote for Isopropyl alcohol

 

[pallo]

Thanks. For now it worked with just a bit of hand sanitize. It wasn’t as bad as I feared