Rusted shutter leafs

[Yourix]

Hi there
I have 3 very old shutters to service. They are front mount leaf shutters with 3 "speed" : B,T and Instant.

First is a "RAAGO" (unknown brand to me) for 60mm front lens diameter, second is a GITZO for 85mm and the last is an enormous SILENS for 120mm diameter.
They are in good shape and working but very dirty and they even smell WD40 !!!

The blades have some rust spots, specially the GITZO wich is very rusty, and it affect the speed.
What is the best way to remove rust without damaging the blades ?
Fiberglass brush ? Acidic/basic cleaner like white vinegar ? Ultrasonic cleaner ?

And what about the bluing ? Do I need to redo it after derusting ?

Thank you for your advices

[Havoc]

I'm a bit curious myself. I have had a very rusted Synchro-Compur #00 and didn't get it off without damaging the blades. Using vinegar made just holes in the blades. That can depend on how rusty and thin those were to begin with. And a fiberglass brush (like those erasers) damaged the "ears".

[Mal Paso]

WD-40 is about the worst thing to use, actually causes rust and leaves behind crud when the solvent evaporates.

I received a Saunders Easel with a totally dead gas spring that smelled like Hoppes gun cleaner.

If you can wet the mechanical parts without damaging finishes etc, non synthetic ATF and acetone is the best penetrant.

[Kino]

Clean steel leaf shutter blades with Brasso or Flitz metal polish. They must be removed from the shutter to clean them properly.

Take care to lay them flat on a solid surface and to NOT snag the edge of the blade and bend it while polishing.

If you have holes in the blades, well, I think they are shot and the mass of the blades have changed enough to affect speeds and to possibly disintegrate with use.

Chris Sherlock on YouTube has a series on repairing Kodak Retina cameras in which he polishes shutter blades with brasso. Worth a look...

[paulbarden]

Clean steel leaf shutter blades with Brasso or Flitz metal polish. They must be removed from the shutter to clean them properly.

Take care to lay them flat on a solid surface and to NOT snag the edge of the blade and bend it while polishing.

If you have holes in the blades, well, I think they are shot and the mass of the blades have changed enough to affect speeds and to possibly disintegrate with use.

Chris Sherlock on YouTube has a series on repairing Kodak Retina cameras in which he polishes shutter blades with brasso. Worth a look...

This is your best advice. I do this as well. If the pitting is severe enough, there's nothing you can do to restore the blades to "like new" condition - you have to live with the results. The important thing is to make sure there are no holes all the way through the steel.

Paul

[Yourix]

Thank you for your advices.
Here is a picture of the most damaged of the 3 shutters. Keep in mind that the hole is 85mm wide... The blades are fairly larges and that makes it easier to repair...

I want to make it clear that the WD40 is the previous owner fault, not mine !
I'll take the thing apart and see what can be done...

[paulbarden]

Thank you for your advices.
Here is a picture of the most damaged of the 3 shutters. Keep in mind that the hole is 85mm wide... The blades are fairly larges and that makes it easier to repair...

I want to make it clear that the WD40 is the previous owner fault, not mine !
I'll take the thing apart and see what can be done...

That's really bad. I have serious doubts about being able to make that into a working shutter, with that much rust in it. If the blades have rusted that badly, I can only imagine what the gear train looks like.....

[Vaughan]

The thing to understand about rust is that the iron-oxide molecule is larger than the metallic iron so it breaks the crystal lattice and becomes mechanically weak, which exposes fresh iron underneath and causes more rust. This is why rust is fatal to iron and steel, the object falls apart. Removing rust is essentially removing the original material, there will be nothing left. The only option is to try to turn the rust into a compound that is mechanically more stable but often it dimensionally different.

[domaz]

It might time to ask instead how to fabricate new shutter leafs. And ya the gear train...

[Jim C.]

Those blades look pretty bad, the raised rust spots might have rusted thru given how thin shutter blades are
the rest looks like surface rust.

I agree with Vaughan about converting the rust, you may want to use a very fine wire brush or as you mentioned
a fiberglass brush to get rid of as much of the rust as possible, then convert the remaining rust.
Here in the US there's a product called Evaporust, it's a water based rust remover, I've used it on tools but not on
shutter blades, it may be worth trying.

On WD40, I had a flood in my basement and two shutters were submerged, and full of water, I took the lens elements off
drained as much water out of the shutter and re drowned them in WD40 till I could find time to get to them.
After cleaning them in baths of naptha and 99% isopropyl both are in working condition like they never experienced
being submerged in a flood. I've never has a issue with WD40 promoting rust, just the opposite.