I was totally skeptical about ultrasonic cleaning for shutters... now I'm a believer

For years I thought ultrasonic cleaners were just a gimmick for jewelry or glasses. Last month I took in a Nikon FM2 that had a sticky shutter from old lubricant that had turned to goo. Tried everything to get it clean. Finally broke down and bought a $80 cleaner off Amazon. Ran the shutter assembly for 3 minutes at 40C. That thing came out completely clean and the shutter fired perfectly after. I felt pretty stupid for fighting it so long. Has anyone else had a repair that made them change their mind about a tool they avoided?

2 comments

2 Comments

graygonzalez17d ago

Warped springs, huh? I guess I got lucky with the FM2 because the whole thing just sounded like a tiny dentist drill full of soapy water. Maybe my goo was the weak kind that surrenders easy, or maybe the A-1 springs are made of butter. I figure my $80 experiment paid off, but I still wouldn't trust it with anything fancier than a brick of a camera. These things seem to work best on simple, chunky parts not delicate, springy bits.

caleb_thomas9317d ago

Wait, you actually got an ultrasonic cleaner to work on a shutter? I had the exact opposite experience. I tried one on an old Canon A-1 and it totally nuked a set of blade springs - they came out all warped and useless. I think people get lucky with certain cameras but for most mechanical shutters the vibration is just too harsh. It might work fine for some sticky lubricant problems but I've ruined more parts than I've saved with that thing.