Agfa Karat 4 sticky shutter

[richard_zhao1]

I recently won a bin for Agfa Karat 4. Somehow, the shutter speed at 1/2 second and 1 second are off, especially for

1 second. When I put on 1 second, sometimes the shutter won't close, sometimes wait for long time to close. In

that case, when I turn the shutter speed dail, the shutter will close.

 

I wonder if anybody here have experience with fixing such issue. I like this little folder, so I want to ask before I do

something wrong with it.

 

Thanks,

[connealy]

I was given a Karat 4 some time ago that had a seized shutter. Turned out to be pretty easy to get into

it for cleaning with lighter fluid, though the Prontor SVS looks quite different internally from the Compurs

that are more common on the German folders. Mine also required considerable swabbing of the shutter

blades to make it operate reliably. Dan Mitchell has <a

href="http://www.daniel.mitchell.name/cameras/index.php?

page=prontor&WEBMGR=2db6c5be78155bcdf4516e0ec5042204" target="new">a nicely illustrated

guide</a> on his site showing the disassembly procedure.

[peter_naylor1]

Hi, Richard As well as the lighter fluid treatment that Mike has mentioned, you could also try CRC Electronic

Aerosol Cleaner. It can get into places to flush out dirt and dust quicker than the lighter fluid, because of the

aerosol pressure. It evaporates in a matter of seconds and won't leave any unwanted residues on lens surfaces or

shutter blades.

 

A common problem on Karat CRF models like yours is a stiff focussing action, which the CRC can help free up

also. You will need to have some sort of lube aerosol as well though, because the CRC is just a cleaning medium

with no lubricating qualities. It can appear to have lubed things up but all it's temporarily done is reinvigorate the

old AGFA lube, but by the next day it's usually stiffened up again. There are several places along the focussing

helix path where the old lube can need some help, including the CRF assembly. You usually don't have to do any

unscrewing though, because the CRC's propellant helps it get into difficult places. (Pete In Perth)