Lubricants

[Valkir1987]

During the years I gathered different types of lubricants, oils and greases which I use for Zorki and Fed cameras mainly.

Lately I came across two cameras that have been recently serviced by a pro. It appears there is a very thin grease (more wax like) type of lubricant used for the rollers. The shutter runs incredibly smooth and there less backlash then when oil is used.

Is anyone familiar with this type of grease/wax? Any help would be appreciated. (Its not the thin helical grease or ptfe super lube)

 

[dmr]

I wonder if it's the silicone grease used for electronics? The techies at work turned me on to it and I've used it for cameras. It's also used for plumbing but you need to know EXACTLY what type to get. It looks kind of like a thin vaseline but it's much more slippery.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I'd be very worried about using silicone lubricants on metal to metal surfaces, metal to plastic or leather (piston washers) is OK but I've know things seize up because of silicone lubricants. And it can be very difficult to remove.

That's based on friends' experiences and a few conversations with technicians at Dow Corning many years ago but I'll pass it on for what it's worth.

Regards, David

 

[Grytpype]

Could it be "dry" lube? I occasionally use some called "TF2 plus" which goes on like a liquid, then dries to a waxy film.

 

[Sid836]

It is synthetic damping grease like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Nye-Lubricants-Synthetic-Damping-Grease/dp/B00BFWLUOC

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Same company that make helicoid grease, good stuff.

 

[sevo]

Lubricants are made in quite a variety of viscosities. http://www.moebius-lubricants.ch/en/products/greases will probably have something fitting your description.

 

[kotokot21]

I use firearm grease for my FSU photo gear, works smooth and great!

 

[Valkir1987]

Thank you for the great response! 🙂 I have ordered some damping grease. I'll let you know the result as soon as I can.

 

[PRJ]

I have taken apart a few FSU cameras over the years and the most important thing it seems to me to get the cameras running smoothly is to get them clean. As I recall, they stuffed those things with "grease" if you can call it that. I rebuilt a Zorki 5 over a decade ago by tearing it all the way down, putting in new shutter curtains, etc. When I reassembled it, I under wound the shutter springs to get a slower shutter speed out of it. In other words, the speeds are half what the dial says. It runs so smooth that you can barely hear it. Blows any Leica right out of the water in that regard. I got rid of all my FSU cameras a long time ago, but I still have the Zorki.

 

[Valkir1987]

Well I finally got the Nyogel 795A damping grease. Only usable for parts that touch or bounce. Too thick, gummy and greasy to use for moving parts. Seems that I picked the wrong viscosity. The search goes on...

I have taken apart a few FSU cameras over the years and the most important thing it seems to me to get the cameras running smoothly is to get them clean. As I recall, they stuffed those things with "grease" if you can call it that.

There is in fact a reason why the rollers and such where lubricated with grease. Leica did this too.

The first thing I do all these years is clean out all the old lubricants. I've done a lot of cameras before. But...

Most of us use oil like me, where a special very thin wax like grease was in fact used. Thinner than the common helical grease. Even Leica used this whale based grease. The Russians did too, but they had a cheaper quality which dried out quickly.

Oil works in some conditions, but there is a lot of backlash on the moving parts and their surface. When tension increases, so does the friction. The very thin wax/grease does a better job here. A professional applied it to two of the cameras that I recently got.

 

[newspaperguy]

I've had good luck with automotive wheel bearing grease, especially for helicoids. Designed for hi-temp situations, it does not creep or fog/gas.

 

[nikarlo]

I use novostar, swiss made watchmaker oil and greases for shutter etc, and a nautical lithium grease for helicoid.
Leica for IIIf use 9 different types of lube.
A good source for watchmaker oil could be http://www.ofrei.com or cousinsuk.com

 

[oftheherd]

I have used white lithium grease applied very sparingly on a shutter part on a Compur shutter. It was the part that is circular and moves when the shutter is tripped.