I keep seeing people use the wrong grease on old shutter mechanisms

Just finished a repair on a Pentax K1000 where the previous tech used a thick silicone grease on the slow speed escapement. It gummed up after about six months, making the 1/30 and 1/15 settings stick. I had to strip it all out with naphtha and use a tiny bit of Moebius 8300 instead. That specific, light oil is made for watch parts and works way better for these fine clockwork pieces. Has anyone else run into this and found a better fix for these old metal shutters?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma6851mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst... I've seen the same thing with white lithium grease on old Argus shutter blades. It turns into glue. That Moebius oil is a lifesaver for the tiny stuff. For bigger springs in those old Kodaks, I've had good luck with a super light synthetic bike chain oil. It stays put but doesn't get sticky.

betty_palmer14d ago

Ngl, the "good enough becomes glue later" pattern shows up in everything from cameras to bike chains.

the_charles1mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I've fixed a dozen old cameras where someone used regular grease, and they all still worked fine for years. That Moebius oil is great, but calling other greases "wrong" seems a bit extreme. Most of these shutters just need something to keep them moving, not museum-grade treatment. I've seen more problems from no lube at all than from the "wrong" kind.