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Shutter curtain fungus?


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I picked up a M4-2 locally this week at a relatively modest price and plan to have it serviced in a couple of weeks for some minor issues I found with the camera (hazy finder, frame line masks a bit sticky). But one thing that bothers me and makes me think if I should return the camera is a greyish pattern in the corner of the shutter curtain. At first sight it looked just like a slight discoloration of the rubber, but when inspecting it closely at home with a magnifying glass it revealed some kind of "organic" pattern. Is this a fungus eating away on my shutter curtains or just some harmless discoloration? Apart from that the curtains look just fine. If it can be cleaned off it would be okay, but I don't want to run the risk of having to replace the shutter curtains...

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Personally, I would stay away from alcohol based products - one side of the shuuter is coated with what appears to be rubber. Try a double-ended cotton swab dipped in vinegar (acetic acid) and wipe the affected area. Use one end of the swab to wipe with vinegar, the other (dry side) to wipe the curtain dry. Works on removing fungus from lens elements and should work here too.

 

Good luck,

 

Jan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the input. The M4-2 is here to stay, I decided to keep it. After reading a bit on the web I had already cleaned the fungus with Isopropanol (Iso propyl alcohol) before Jan's post recommending against alcohol caught my attention. Well, I guess it was okay, I cannot see any signs of damage to the curtain cloth. The next step was to clean the viewfinder. I decided to tackle this problem myself. After taking off the top cover (which is quite easy with the proper tools, there are instructions to be found on the web) I found to my surprise that the haze was only on the inside surface of the top plate glass insert, not on the elements of the view-/rangefinder itself. This was very easy to clean without the risk of damaging anything. The finder is clear as a bell now. With the help of a M2 repair manual I could also identify the proper screw that adjusts the actuation of the 50mm frame lines. So all problems are solved and I am the happy owner of beautiful working M4-2 :)

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