Fixed a sticky shutter on my Pentax with a lighter, not lighter fluid

Picked up a beat up Spotmatic at a garage sale in Tucson for $20. Shutter was sticking at 1/60 and below, real slow. Tried cleaning it with compressed air, no luck. Then I remembered an old trick from a repair forum - used a Bic lighter to very briefly heat the shutter blades to evaporate any old grease. Let it cool down for 20 minutes, and now it snaps at every speed. Has anyone else tried this method or is it too risky?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_patel14d agoTop Commenter

Man, that lighter trick actually worked for you? I had the same issue with an old Ricoh TLS 401 and I tried the heat method too but I used a hair dryer on low setting instead of a lighter. Did it for like 30 seconds from a few inches away and let it cool down completely. Took a couple tries but it fixed the sticky shutter issue. I always worry about damaging the blades with direct heat though, glad it worked out for you.

jesse_barnes3714d ago

Yeah that hair dryer trick is smart actually. I've heard of people using heat guns too but those can get too hot too quick. With the lighter I was super careful and kept it moving the whole time. But I feel like @dylan_patel's approach with the low setting and the distance is probably safer for the long run. I had a friend who just left his camera in a hot car for like 20 minutes on a summer day and that worked for him too, though I'd worry about the foam melting or something. The sticky shutter issue on these old Ricohs is such a pain but once you get it fixed they're tanks.