Box cameras were the first cameras designed for the consumer market. The early Kodak Box Brownie could not be opened by the consumer, but was shipped back to the company for development of the film. The entire camera, loaded with fresh film then was sent back with the prints from the previous session. Box cameras are basic photographic instruments, but they still work.
Instructions
1. Open the camera and remove the back. This will give you the two basic parts of the camera to clean. On most box cameras, the back includes the film and take-up reels. Start your cleaning here.
2. Put a small amount of an oil-based liquid solvent on the soft, lint-free cloth and clean all the parts of the camera back, inside and outside. Remove the take-up reel and clean the parts of the camera that hold it and the film roll. If the gears don't move properly, use an aerosol lubricant sparingly on them. You also can use compressed air to remove dust and debris.
3. Use lens tissue to clean the red film window on the back of the camera. If it is particularly dirty, add some alcohol to the lens tissue but be careful since some of these red windows on later models may have been made of plastic.
4. Turn your attention to the body of the camera. You can clean the inside and outside of the lens with lens tissue after you use compressed air to remove debris and dust. The lens is more important than the viewfinders because it takes the image.
5. Clean the bulk of the camera body with the soft cloth and oil-based liquid solvent. If it has a leather covering, you may need to use a leather cleaner instead. Clean the viewfinders. You can use lens tissue or, since they generally were made of glass, you can use the oil-based liquid solvent first if the viewfinders are overly dirty.
6. Clean the outside of the shutter release button and the inside and outside of the film winder knob. You also can add a little aerosol lubricant if either is a bit sluggish.
Tags: lens tissue, inside outside, liquid solvent, oil-based liquid, oil-based liquid solvent, parts camera, aerosol lubricant