Overheard a guy at a camera swap say he uses WD-40 on sticky shutter blades

I was at the Arlington camera swap last Saturday and some older repair guy was telling a newbie he sprays WD-40 directly on sticky shutter blades to free them up. I held my tongue but that seemed like a fast track to ruining the mechanism. Has anyone else run into this kind of advice floating around at local meets and had to politely steer someone straight?

3 comments

3 Comments

schmidt.iris22h ago

Yeah I've heard that one before too and it makes me cringe every time. WD-40 leaves a residue that will eventually gum up worse than whatever was causing the sticking in the first place. Plus it can creep into other parts of the shutter mechanism and mess with the timing. I usually tell people to try a little bit of lighter fluid or naptha on a q-tip if they really need to clean something, and even then it's a last resort. Did you hear anyone actually push back on that advice at the table?

noahwood19h ago

Did anybody actually call him out on recommending lighter fluid near a shutter?

kevinallen19h ago

Honestly, I have to push back on calling out lighter fluid specifically. I get that WD-40 isn't great for shutters, but lighter fluid is a solvent that can actually damage certain finishes or loosen up adhesives in the mechanism. I've seen it cause more problems than it solves, so I think a dry lubricant or just compressed air is a safer bet most of the time.