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The ultrasonic tank that ate my shutter blades, switch to manual cleaning
For 7 years I trusted my ultrasonic cleaner for every part, until last spring in Portland when it wrecked a set of Copal blades on a Nikon FM2. The cavitation was vibrating the tiny screws loose and flecks of dried lubricant landed right on the shutter curtain. Now I only use the tank for lens groups and do all mechanical parts by hand with a fine brush and lighter fluid. It takes twice as long but I've had zero comebacks since April. Has anyone else seen ultrasonic damage on older focal plane shutters, or is my unit just too aggressive?
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thea85722d ago
Wow, that is a scary story about the Copal blades on your FM2. I actually read a long thread on a camera repair forum last winter where a guy in Japan said the same thing happened to him with an old Canon rangefinder. He said the ultrasonic waves can shake out old grease and metal bits from spots you cannot even see and then they settle on the shutter curtain. Another tech in that thread said he never puts whole shutter assemblies in the tank, only bare metal parts with no tiny screws. Your hand cleaning with lighter fluid sounds slow but safe. Makes sense that lens groups are fine since there is nothing loose in there to rattle apart.
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