Olympus OM series are awesome, these are tiny cameras. They are versatile, come with a large and bright viewfinder, and OM lenses are very compact with awesome optical and build quality.

Olympus OM10 is one of the lower spec OM bodies, which can be obtained second hand fairly easily. A common failure is the sticky shutter situation, where the exposure time is significantly longer at first use after a long unused period. For instance, LED indicator shows 1/1000, but the first exposure is something like 1/30 or 1/15, pretty long. In most cases, the subsequent exposures are spot on.

The reason is that oil migrates onto the shutter magnets which causes them to stick open. This is fairly easy to fix, you just need to clean the shutter magnet assembly using 99% Isopropyl Alcohol.

For this instructable you just need:
- Flat tip screwdriver
- 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
- Cotton swabs
- Masking tape (or any other weak sticky tape)

Step 1: Tape the Mirror to the Top Position

I used a weak masking tape. This is to open work space and protect the fragile mirror surface. Things are much harder to deal with with the mirror down.

Step 2: Lift the Mirror Box Bottom Cover

Do this using a flat tip screw driver. Start from the left edge and it will lift easily. Take the plastic cover out.

Step 3: Locate the Electromagnet and Soak It With Pure Alcohol

Check out the photos below, there is a tiny electromagnet and several metal heads touching it. This is our problem area. Soak a cotton swab with pure alcohol (99% Isopropyl Alcohol) and spread it over the left edge of the electromagnet. Operate the camera several times and try again. This will help cleaning/draining the oil residue on the magnet surface.

Step 4: Put the Cover Back, You Are Done!

Put the cover back resting it on its right edge and lowering the left edge, as shown below. Your sticky shutter problem must have gone now. Fire the shutter several times. Rest the camera for a few hours, and try firing the shutter again. Most probably the problem have vanished. Otherwise, follow the previous steps again.

Happy snaps!..

K.