Slimmy shutter fix?!

[Ambar]

So I've managed to get a old Ensign Pocket Twenty 6x9 camera lent out for me to fix and have fun with for a while. I noticed that the shutter was permanently open so I decided to open this puppy up and try to fix it.

The simple glass seems VERY clean but the shutters themselves are slimy with an oily substance. I tryed oiling up the mechanism to free it and make it move. Things definetly got better but it still doesn't fire properly.

So I've decided to go a different route and attempt to remove ALL oil from it and leave it bone dry. I'm interested in any suggestion to follow through with such a procedure? I don't think I want to use water and soap (even though I believe it'll be harmless) I was think about using copiouse amounts of WD-40. I know it has a drying agent quality and I think I might be able to spray all of the oil off and leave it clean.

Ps: yes I have removed the shutter mechanism from the camera and this will not be done anywhere near the the rest of the camera. It actually was surprisingly simple. From a whole camera to a shutter mechanism in hand.. All it took was 4 screws.

Any other ideas? Thoughts or feelings? Please don't call me crazy...

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Use naptha - AKA lighter fluid or Ronsinol. 'White gasoline' also works - but work outside with a fire extinguisher handy. Shutters will work fine dry. Sometimes a minuscule drop of mineral oil applied with an oil-dampened toothpick is needed on the escapement of the slow-speed and self-timer mechanisms.

Do NOT use WD-40: it will dry out and leave a sticky gum. WD-40 was designed for rustproofing newly machined metal - it penetrates, displaces water and then evaporates, leaving behind a gummy coating that keeps the metal from rusting. It happens that WD-40 is great stuff for freeing up gummed up mechanisms - it is after all a gum solvent. To keep a mechanism ungummed you need to follow the WD-40 with an application of real oil like SAE-30.

 

[Ambar]

Thanks for the tip Nicholas! I'll be sure to stay away from the WD-40. The lighter fluid you're talking about is the regular kind you put in zippos correct?

 

[snederhiser]

Hello;
Go to the auto parts store and get a can of brake cleaner. More aggressive that lighter fluid but will not take the paint like carb cleaner and dries residue free. Good luck, Steven.

 

[Stuggi]

You have got that the wrong way around, carburettor cleaner is less aggressive than brake cleaner. Brake cleaner contains added solvents for more bite and it will most certainly strip paint, I use it to clean out 2-K epoxy paints that have hardened from my paint guns.

Lighter fluid is the way to go for starters, it should be completely safe on nearly all paints, then you can step up to the more aggressive cleaner if you need it.