Took me 4 years to realize I was cleaning shutter blades wrong.

I used to use compressed air on leaf shutters. Thought it was fine. Then a client brought in a Compur from the 50s that had oil residue all over the blades. I blew it out, but the shutter started sticking. Another repair guy told me I was just pushing the gunk deeper into the mechanism. Switched to using a tiny bit of lighter fluid on a Q-tip and dabbing it clean. No more issues. Has anyone else had a similar wake up call with a specific cleaning method?

2 comments

2 Comments

bell.jessica12d ago

Honestly that tracks with how most people approach problem solving in general. We grab the easiest fix first without thinking about how it messes with the whole system. Tbh it's like using a leaf blower on a dusty bookshelf instead of just wiping it down, you just scatter the mess somewhere else.

gibson.troy12d ago

Huh, yeah that's a really good way to put it. The leaf blower analogy is spot on. I think most of us just want the quick fix and don't stop to think about where the dirt actually goes. With shutters it's even worse because you can't see the damage right away. You just assume it's clean and then the thing jams up months later. It takes a real failure to learn the right way, unfortunately.