Canon P DIY lube job

[stratcat]

Has anyone here done a lube job of a Canon P that could give some basic directions on lubrication points? I'm not located in the US and the price of shipping the camera plus the price of the CLA itself amounts to buying another Canon P... maybe not a bad idea in itself but... that's another story 🙂

I bought a nice Canon P bundled with some lenses I purchased in December. The seller claimed the shutter speeds were off about a stop but frankly the speeds sound fine to me. If anything 1 sec is more like 1.3 secs.

However the film advance sounds and feels "dry", not rough at all, just not smooth as my lubed Canon 7s. Also the shutter makes a noise more like a quick "ZIP!" rather than the slight "clack" produced by the Canon 7s. The self-timer works quite alright and does not sound dragged down. All the above leads me to think the camera does not need much cleaning but simply lubrication to bring it up to standards.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone who has done this could give me some pointers.

cheers!

 

[Mackinaw]

It's pretty tough to compare different cameras using sounds and feel. The shutter in a Canon 7 and 7s is different from that used in the P. Different materials were probably used (especially for the shutter brake) and maybe even a different shutter geometry. Plus being inside a different body shell will also contribute to a different sound.

As for the feel of the film advance, I owned a P years back that had a rough feel that even a CLA couldn't help. I finally gave up on the camera (and on all Ps') and never looked back. Others report that their Ps' have a silky-smooth advance so there may be a lot of camera variation.

As for what grease or lube to use, take a look at the Micro-Tools website. They sell a large variety of camera lubricants. I can tell you that Ny-Oil is often used to lubricate shutter bearings.

Jim B.

 

[stratcat]

Thanks for your reply Mackinaw! I'll get some Ny-Oil for the P's shutter bearings.

 

[John Shriver]

It's the lack of oil, but the accretion of oil and dirt, which is trouble. Adding oil to the dirt won't help for long.

What country are you in, folks here may know affordable places for CLA in your country.

 

[stratcat]

Thanks for everyone for your replies. Indeed I'm trying to get the service manual for the P and see if there's an indication of lube points.

I live about 35 miles south of Mexico City.

Thanks again