Cleaning, would be a quick rub down between shows or at the end of the day, you know, whenever necessary. Could be as simple as wiping down the projector with a rag. I always take out the gate (on a Simplex), and wipe it down that way. If it needs a bit more, I wipe it down with a rag and then I would use 99% isopropyl alcohol and a Webril (100% cotton) wipe. Any surface that the film comes into contact with gets cleaned (and a few others get a quick wipe at the end). I run Film Guard frequently so I don't need to do this between every show. If the print is really shedding, the you have to clean it every show.

Super-Cleaning, is when I strip the projector. With the Simplex's I used to run I would try to do this every couple of months. I cleaned everything, and I do mean everything. I took off anything that I could without haveing to re-align when I put it back in, and cleaned it throughly. Went through a lot of Q-tips when I did this, put it was worth it. The entire projector head, and sound heads would be spotless after this type of cleaning. This was a lot harder to do at a mega-plex, but I didn't have problems getting it done at smaller theatres. I have only done this on a Simplex though.

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I use to clean my two Cinemeccanica V5 MI in this way:

Avery day, before show: clean the gate with someting water-based (I notice that the hard dirt on the gate come out with something like water rather than alchool), clean sound leds (SR/DD/DTS), lenses and sensors with isopropyl alcohol. Since my projs are in good condition and they don't make dirt, I think that daily this is enough.

Once a week I take off the print of the projector, I manually rewind the film cleaning it with a soft cloth and I clean all the parts of projector that touch the print with alchool, isopropyl alchool or water-based product depending what I'm cleaning.

Every few months I make the projector new... I disassembled everything is moving, clean it, put oil if has to rotate and reassemble.

I reach this procedure after few try. My result is very good. Film is always clean and I don't have any type of problem.

Sorry for eventually syntax errors!

1) You must be VERY careful not to blow the air on or near the lenses or the sound head. You can get a 'sand blaster' effect. (Particles of dirt can etch the glass.) And the condensation in the air stream can get into the lenses, etc.

2) It is possible to blow dirt even deeper into the projector bearings, etc. causing a sortened life span.

3) Okay, so you've carefully blown all the dust out of the projector... Where did it go? It's suspended in the air, waiting to settle back onto something else.

I'd say that a vacuum cleaner is the better choice. Essentially, it's a reverse air compressor and it actually removes the dirt, rather than sending it up into the air.

I'd even recommend that you use a vacuum AND a compressor at the same time; blowing with one and sucking with the other.

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One possibility is to put an oil / vapor trap on the compressor, last thing on the line before the hose.

As for a "nub" being cracked -- the hub is a split assembly that tightens on the shaft using two screws. Where is the crack? That can happen if those screws are over-tightened.

Pat

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I was using the cotton (to wipe with alcohol)in the FRAMING side, is that a no-no?

Also, what are the differences between a 2-blade and 3-bladed shutter?

Thank you.

NEVER clean a running projector, as the risk of injury or jamming the mechanism is too high.