cleaning prontor SVS shutter

I've purchased an agfa isolette iii folder to have a play around with, it needs a bit of work and after I deal with the stuck focus ring, clean the lenses and rangefinder and fix the bellows I'd like to also clean up the shutter as best as I can without taking the shutter apart.

So, any tips on doing this? is there anything on the camera / shutter that I need to be careful and avoid getting lighter fluid on? can I just soak everything or do I need to be selective about what I clean? what needs to be lubricated when I'm done?

:confused:

hi timk

mr google suggests:

http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=prontor

you might do a search here with prontor svs as your key words
to see if anyone can suggest a way to help you cla - it .

good luck!

john

hey john, yep I've already seen this link, though it doesn't really say if there is anything I need to be careful about not getting lighter fluid on, and it also doesn't say where to lubricate if it needs it.

Apologies if this is a bit of a newbie question but this is my first go at servicing a shutter so it's a bit of a "learning by doing" experience for me. The reason why I'm asking about the lighter fluid is because the service material that I've read for other cameras warns about certain parts on the camera (such as the focusing screen) that don't react well to lighter fluid so I'm wondering if any of this advise applies to folders. The reason why I'm asking what I need to lubricate is because I don't want to go overboard and lubricate everything if I don't have to!

Nothing on the glass.
The stiff focus can be cured with the lighter fluid and relubed with a couple of small dabs of grease. A light touch around the thread will do it
If you're not sure to get all of the lighter fluid out, the diaphragm blades may stick as it dries. You need to keep opening & closing it until there's no residue.
For lubrication it's pretty easy, anything that rotates or pivots gets oil and sliding surfaces get a tiny dab of grease.

ok so... I unjammed the focus and cleaned all of the lens elements. There was some fungus on the rear element, the windex + h2o2 seems to have done the job.

Now the shutter.... when I got the camera, the fast speeds worked and the slow speeds did not work at all. I removed the cover from the shutter and using lighter fluid + q tip brushed some lighter fluid around. This got the slow speeds working as well and everything was fine.

However, I decided to give it a better clean and soaked the entire shutter in lighter fluid overnight. Now it has decided to jam up and it only intermittently fires. If I soak it again, it fires 'underwater' at all speeds perfectly but after it's dried it's stopped firing.

Any ideas? I haven't lubricated/greased anything yet, I'd like to avoid it if possible as i understand these shutters are designed to run dry.

When it's dried, there's still a residue in the blades keeping everything from moving.
You will need to get it working as you have and when you take it out of the fluid, wipe away or blow away as much excess as you can. Continue to work it & wipe away excess until nothing shows. At that point you may be OK. It's just tedious & why I don't flush clean things. If you have a small compressor it helps, 5 PSI or so works fine.
Regarding lube, don't use 3-in-1, just watch or fine instrument oil. all that really needs it are the pivots for rotating point like levers and gears.
For quantity, dip a straight pin into the oil & apply the drop to the pivot. It doesn't take much

For cleaning small intricate mechanisms, an ultrasound cleaner like this one worked for me in the past. Place the shutter (no glass!) in with lighter fluid or other cleaning agents and turn on. This way, the grime will come out as opposed to drying back in the same place.