lubricant for old camera

Hi Sigurd, cameras need very little lubrication if any at all. I'm pretty new to fixing cameras and it depends on whats sticking. Let us know what's not working and I'm sure someone will post a solution.

Lenses use a special grease on the focusing but I sometimes use white lithium grease. Shutters are another thing, I've never had to oil one. I just clean them with lighter fluid.

Be careful with grease, some kinds don't mix well and cause the product to separate into oil and soap/salt. I just can't remember which types are incompatible.

Take a look at the lubricants section of www.micro-tools.com to get an idea of the types of oils and greases that are supposed to be used for cameras. There are other sources of these high-grade lubricants, including www.timesavers.com (a clock parts supplier) or http://www.nancyfrattimusicboxes.com (a music box restoration supplier).

If you are into the engineering aspects of these high-grade oils, take a look at www.nyelubricants.com and http://www.kluber.com.

Most shutters and wind mechanisms need lubrication if they are to operate well for a long time, despite the internet support for 'running shutters dry'.

Seek out a repair manual for your specific camera and it'll make your DIY camera repair a lot easier. There are several repair manual suppliers on the net and eBay. Those manuals will specify the lubrication plan, albeit often in terms of outdated lubes that you will have to choose a suitable substitute.

Most important is knowing how much of any lubricant to use. Use too much and you'll botch the job worse than not using enough.

Cleaning, though is the real secret to a good repair. Clean the camera/shutter really well before you start gooping it up with oil and grease!

WD-40 can be an excellent lubricant for fine mechanisms like watches and cameras...but you have to separate it. Spray about a inch into a small jar (like a pimiento jar). Let this sit undisturbed for several days, and you will see two distinct layers separate. The heavy layer on the bottom is full of paraffin and other junk. The top layer is a fine and light oil, and should be applied very sparingly.

Jon

Powerdered graphite in SMALL amounts will work in some areas. I have used it on shutters with good results. Too much and it ends up on the lenses.

A light silicone will work on metal gears. As stated earlier Micro -tools is good source for oils and lubricants. They sell ( of used to) a three pack of three different light weight lubricants in varying weights.

Most cases apply the lubricant with a tootpick.

On the Argus I would use a light weight lubricant on the gears and a few specks of graphite on the shutter. I restored two Konica S2 using this method a few years ago and they are still in use.

Wipe off any excess lubricant as it can cause more harm than good ( dust magnet).

I can't think of a worse spray can lubricant than WD-40. It can coagulate, and its a dirt and crud magnet. Remember, its a WATER displacing compound, attempt #40. What is does do is burn wickedly, and under the right conditions, it can even explode. Even when I had a garage many, many years ago, I did not use this stuff for lubrication.

I thought it was the propellent in WD40 that was explosive. Not the lubricant itself?

I've been biting my tongue because I don't want to offend Jon Goodman, but I have never met a watch/clock/shutter repair person yet that uses WD-40... even separated from the carrier as Jon describes doing.

In fact, what John says is more what I commonly hear, read, and have experienced. WD-40 destroys most ultrasonic cleaning solutions and many clock repair people I know (me included) would almost rather turn down a job than deal with the mess left behind by some well-intentioned consumer use of WD-40. In fact, if WD-40 has been used on anything I work on, I charge extra because I know the ultrasonic cleaning solution will be "one-shot" and will have to be thrown out long before it should have.

What's more is that WD-40's lubricant spreads and travels... which is exactly what you don't want in clock/watch/shutters. Okay, let me admit, I've never tested Jon's way of separating and applying like one would apply a fine watch/clock oil... but I'd think more people in the trade would be onto this trick if it was really equivelent to the name-brand pivot oils.

Hasn't anyone noticed yet that none of the sellers of professional clock/watch/camera supplies even carries WD-40 in their catalogs?

Has anyone tried light refrigeration oil? I just wondered about this, because after recharging an auto air conditioner a while back I had a little very thin PAG oil left in the can, and it looked as if it ought to do pretty well on something like this, but I haven't dared try it. At the moment, I'm trying to revive a Nikon F that seems to have gotten damp inside, and definitely will need some lubing. Any hints welcome.