Warning: I used to think any old light oil was fine for shutter blades

I mean, for years I'd just use a tiny bit of sewing machine oil on sticky leaf shutters in old folders. It worked, but not for long, maybe a few months before the gum came back. Then I got a bottle of Nyeohr 815F on a tip from a guy at a camera meet in Portland. The difference is crazy. The sewing machine oil would get gummy with heat and dust, but the 815F is made for tiny clock parts and stays thin. I did a side by side on two Agfa Isolettes last fall, same model, same sticky shutter. The one with the 815F is still snapping clean, the other one started dragging again after about four months. It's a bit pricier, but you use so little. Has anyone else found a specific oil that really lasts for this job?

3 comments

3 Comments

mia_stone11d ago

My grandpa swore by a single drop of Singer oil on his old Kodak. It always seized up by Christmas.

lunakim10d ago

Oh man, I went through the exact same thing with sewing machine oil. I had this Zeiss folder that would just slow down every summer. I finally tried some synthetic watch oil from a hobby shop, the kind for model train bearings. Total game changer. That was two years ago and the shutter still fires perfectly, even in the heat. It just doesn't break down or attract gunk like the lighter oils do.

theasmith10d ago

Yeah, the sewing machine oil trap is so real. I ruined a perfectly good shutter on a Voigtlander by using that stuff, it turned into this weird sticky paste after a hot summer. I switched to a tiny bottle of synthetic lubricant meant for fishing reel gears, and it was like night and day. That was three years back and the shutter still sounds crisp. It just doesn't seem to dry out or collect dust the same way.