Watch out for those old shutter curtains crumbling on you mid-job

I was in the middle of a CLA on a Pentax Spotmatic from the late 60s yesterday, and right as I got the mirror box cleaned up, the shutter curtain just started flaking apart at the edges. It wasn't torn or anything obvious when I first opened it, but the material had gotten so brittle over 50 years that a gentle touch made it crumble like old newspaper. I had to stop everything and source a replacement curtain kit, which set me back 3 days waiting on shipping from a seller in Ohio. The worst part is I already quoted the customer $95 for a standard overhaul, and now I'm eating the extra cost for the parts. Has anyone else dealt with these late-model cloth curtains that look fine but disintegrate the second you breathe on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby49428d ago

Crumbled like old newspaper" is brutally perfect. I've had that happen with a Konica once, nightmare.

faith_torres8328d ago

Oh man, I feel that pain. I had a camera fall apart in my hands once and it still makes me mad thinkin about it. The thing just gave up mid roll and there was nothin I could do. It makes you wonder how some companies get away with sellin junk like that, right?