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The debate about lubricating leaf shutters with graphite vs oil...
I was talking to a retired repair guy at a camera show in Chicago last weekend. He swore by using powdered graphite on Compur shutters because oil eventually gums up. But I've been using a tiny drop of light machine oil on my own repairs and they've been running smooth for like 5 years now. So which is actually the right call for long term reliability? Anyone here dealt with the aftermath of both methods?
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kevin_williams8d ago
That retired repair guy has a point though because modern synthetic oils can literally stay fluid for decades but most people still use the old stuff that turns to glue. It's like how everyone swears by wd40 for everything when there's actually like 20 different specialized sprays that do the job way better. Long term reliability really comes down to what specific lubricant you grabbed off the shelf, not just whether it's oil or graphite.
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perry.jesse8d ago
My 1947 Speed Graphic came with a Graphex that had graphite in it when I got it ten years ago. The stuff had turned into a paste that was basically glue, took me three days to clean it all out with lighter fluid and q-tips. Used a tiny drop of Nye oil after that and haven't touched it since.
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alext528d ago
That retired guy at the show probably hasn't opened a shutter in 20 years. I pulled apart an old Compur last month that was full of graphite powder and it had turned into this nasty gray paste that was sticking everything together. @kevin_williams mentioned synthetic oils being better and he's right - I've been using a specific watch oil from Moebius that costs like 15 bucks a bottle and it's been holding up way longer than any powder I've seen. Graphite just floats around inside the shutter and lands on the glass elements after a few years.
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