Prontor SVS shutter lubrication Graphite Powder ?

I have just finished reassembling the lens and shutter on a Voigtlander Vito b . Prontor SVS shutter.
The Voigtlander shutter instructions I have tell me not to lubricate the shutter, but leave dry.
I could not resist a tiny smear of watch oil on the pallet faces of the escapement.
The self timer works fine and the shutter worked fine for a few days.
Unfortunately the 1 second exposure step has developed a stutter. It doesn't stop but varies speed.
I am working purely by sound and sight of the shutter movement.
I have since seen on the internet and read of people giving the the self timer movement and shutter speed movement a good dunk in graphite powder, running the mechanism a few times, then blowing and tapping away the surplus graphite powder before full reassembly of the camera.

Is this a recognised repair procedure?

Has anyone here experience of this use of graphite powder?

Would the fine graphite powder that artists use on pencil drawing be OK to use?

Thanks.

Molybdenum Disulfide powder is recommended as a lubricant for the escapements.

Hi Bob. Chances are high that the escapement still isn't completely clean, or some parts (likely the pivots, not the pallet faces) are worn excessively. Please note that although Prontor repair manuals specify no oil, they do specify grease on some of the sliding surfaces. I know of no known best practice that involves dunking shutter parts in either graphite or moly-d. Some knowlegable repairmen might lightly brush (and brush off) such lubricants from shutter blades, though. In some instances it seems to work but might be a "hack"; I've not seen that as a factory-recommended practice but it might be useful given the age and wear on a shutter. From what I know, the lead in pencils is graphite in clay, at varying compositions to form the varying hardness. Not exactly desireable sounding to me, at least, for lubrication purposes. I've not seen "ingredients" on the art graphite powder... maybe it's pure; IDK, though. Good luck with your repair!

Hardware stores might have graphite powder. Used on lock mechanisms.

Molybdenum Disulfide is similar but slippier.

If you use powder of either one, be sure to wipe and blow off well. Both dusts have a sparkle to them.

Graphite and (non anodized) aluminum are far apart on galvanic sheet, setting up for some corrosion potential. If steel surfaces maybe w a clean clear blow why not?

dxqcanada said:

Molybdenum Disulfide powder is recommended as a lubricant for the escapements.

Click to expand...

MoS powder is best. Add a drop of ronsonol to make a paste and use a toothpick to put the paste in the escapements. It will dry soon and leave the MoS only.

Chris Sherlock uses graphite powder to lubricate some parts/assemblies and molybdenum paste for others. I suggest you watch some of his excellent videos on Youtube.

I encountered a similar problem when servicing a Seiko SLV shutter: The escapement didn't run very well dry, and my lightest oil didn't seem to suit it either. What to do? I tried a little Molykote-G paste (molybdenum, lithium, graphite) mixed with naptha to create a thin wash, worked the mechanism several times while wet, then dabbed away the excess liquid. That was several weeks ago, and it's been working great ever since. To the unaided eye, the part looks clean and dry.

In this case it would be worth trying that good option with specific focus on the contact point interface at the slow speed escapement.

The repair manual has greasing requirements, mostly at sliding surfaces that control shutter timing.

When I was regularly on graflex.org and bought two 4"x5" cameras from a retired Graflex and Graphic repairman, he advised that I remove the lens with the mounting board and use graphite on both sides, fire the shutter a number of times and then use canned air to blow off the excess. The cured the sticking shutter problem.

I used this on a couple of Alphax shutters that were ready for the scrap bin, now I use them without issues. Remove the lens cells first and use the little straw to inject the lube through the cable release socket (do this outside, it's messy as heck and you'll need to wipe everything off the outside) let them dry thoroughly before testing the shutter.

titrisol said:

MoS powder is best. Add a drop of ronsonol to make a paste and use a toothpick to put the paste in the escapements. It will dry soon and leave the MoS only.

Click to expand...

Yes. This works well. I call that paste "moly mud".
In addition, after the naphtha dries, I'll add a bit of watch oil to the highest-speed pair of bearings to prevent them from squealing. The moly holds the oil in place for years, preventing the bearings from drying out.

I have seen teflon dust being used instead of moly in micro-electro-mechanical instruments instead of moly due to electrical and dielectrical properties.
Would that also work?

Teflon might work, I don't know, but something to think about... I know, the amount of usage in camera repair is not enough to really worry me, I use ptfe grease all the time, maybe go through 2 ounces in a year!

PTFE dry lubes are actually quite good when used correctly.