The brass brush switch that saved my shutter work in 20 minutes

I used to clean shutter blades with a regular steel brush and canned air, and I kept getting these tiny scratches showing up on test shots. About 6 months ago in Portland, a retired repair guy watched me do it and handed me a brass brush, said steel is too hard for the aluminum blades. Switched that day and my cleaning time dropped from 45 minutes to 20 on a jammed lens. Now I also use a magnifying lamp before I even start, so I can spot oil spots before they smear. Has anyone else made a tool swap that changed their whole process? I still see steel brushes in kits at estate sales and wonder if I'm missing something.

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shane_wilson2d ago

You know what nobody talks about? The brass brush thing is real, but the real game changer is using a wooden toothpick with a tiny piece of lens tissue wrapped around it for the stubborn oil spots. The brush gets the big stuff, but that toothpick trick gets INTO the hinge area where the blade pivots. I had a jammed 50mm that looked clean after brushing but still stuck, and the toothpick pulled out this dark line of old grease that was catching the blade edge. Also, if you're not checking the blade tension screw while you're in there, you're missing half the problem. Steel is fine for some older brass blades, but on the modern aluminum ones, it's like sandpaper.