Cleaning an old camera battery compartment?

I found an old 35mm Nikon camera. I opened the battery compartment (whatever it's called) and the batteries inside were covered with brown/white crusty stuff. I took out the batteries and cleaned it up. There are still small amounts of white residue inside, but is it safe to put in new batteries now?

Try using fine steel wool on the contacts to get as much off as you can. If it isn't clean enough, your camera may not work properly.

Congrats on your find! I hope you can end up using the camera.

Yes, batter compartment is the correct term. The brown and white stuff is battery acid that has leaked out of an expired battery. This is why you should always remove batteries from electronic devices before storing them.

Believe it or not, you can use a Q-tip soaked in Coca-Cola or household vinegar to neutralize the battery acid and make it less dangerous. As the acid liquifies again, it will be easier to remove from the compartment with the dry end of the Q-tip. Get as much of that crud out as you can so the new batteries can make a good connection. Any left-over acid will inhibit the connection and encourage oxidation of the new battery.

So after that's all out of there, as has been mentioned, use a small tuft of steel wool or a small file to remove any corrosion off the battery terminal. The terminal is very delicate so be careful not to snap it. Once you are through with that, or if there's no corrosion on it, rub it clean with a simple pencil eraser. This will clean any oils off the terminal and make a good connection. Last on the terminal, very GENTLY bend it up towards you a little so it makes a very tight connection to the new battery.

Repeat these steps of cleaning with the inside of the batter compartment cover if necessary. At the very least use the eraser to clean it.

Last step of course is to install fresh batteries. Without knowing the model, I can't tell you what those are but be sure that they are brand new or are putting out the specified voltage (usually 1.5 volts each.)

Good luck with your camera, I hope it works! If it is an SLR, it probably also needs new light seals which you can read about on various websites: https://www.google.com/...=firefox-a

It's very rewarding to refurbish vintage cameras. When properly cared for and used, they can take amazing photos!

METAL AND MANUAL! FILM FOREVER!