Changed my mind about using canned air on old camera shutters

My friend Carlos at the shop in Tucson kept telling me to only use a manual blower on shutters from the 70s... said the propellant in canned air can leave a film. I blew out a Pentax MX last month with canned air and the shutter started sticking after a few days. Had to take it apart again and clean it with isopropyl. Anyone else run into this with specific older models?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia6343mo ago

Carlos is right about that film. It happened to me on an old Nikon FE. The shutter got slow and sticky after using canned air. Learned the hard way that a simple rubber bulb blower is the only safe thing for that job. Now I keep one in the kit just for older cameras. A careful cleaning with a tiny bit of isopropyl on a swab fixed it, but it was a hassle.

simon_sanchez583mo ago

Yeah, the propellant in that canned air can leave a residue too. It's not just about the force. That gunk builds up over time.

kai_brown231mo ago

My buddy @simon_sanchez58 is spot on here. I had a cheap leaf blower for my keyboards once. Used it for like six months straight. Then one day I noticed the keys felt sticky. Looked inside and there was this weird oily film all over the switches. Took me two hours with q-tips and rubbing alcohol to clean it all off. Never again. Now I just use a manual puffer bulb like Patricia said. Simple stuff works best.