David Haas
Contributor
Don't know if I posted this before but if it helps any new UW photographer here goes........
Below's a link on keeping buttons lubed. It’s a great tutorial from a guy who's rented compact housings for years.
The part on using an eye dropper and liquid silicone is great! I bought a pump bottle of the liquid silicone stuff and a couple eye droppers.
Article by Jeff Mullins in Indonesia……….
I've used his PUSH BUTTON lubing method on my Fantasea housings keeping push button controls working great!
Underwater Camera Maintenance
Scroll down his page for the liquid silicone fix for sticky buttons
VERY IMPORTANT !!!!!!!!!!!
I always rinse and soak the housing before lubing the buttons !!!!!
After any dive up near the bottom where silt, sand, etc. might have got in those little crevices I flush water around each button and gently press each button (usually holding the housing in a rinse tank.) This seems to flush small grains of sand away BEFORE lubing with the eye dropper and liquid silicone as shown in the link.
Back home I give the housing a good long soak dissolving salt crystals for 24-48 hours, housing sealed with no camera inside. Occasionally I press the buttons changing the water each day over a couple days.
I also soak my strobes sealed up (no batteries) plus my wrist dive computers and regulator with dust cap in (don’t push the purge while submerged !!!!!!)
Below's a link on keeping buttons lubed. It’s a great tutorial from a guy who's rented compact housings for years.
The part on using an eye dropper and liquid silicone is great! I bought a pump bottle of the liquid silicone stuff and a couple eye droppers.
Article by Jeff Mullins in Indonesia……….
I've used his PUSH BUTTON lubing method on my Fantasea housings keeping push button controls working great!
Underwater Camera Maintenance
Scroll down his page for the liquid silicone fix for sticky buttons

VERY IMPORTANT !!!!!!!!!!!
I always rinse and soak the housing before lubing the buttons !!!!!
After any dive up near the bottom where silt, sand, etc. might have got in those little crevices I flush water around each button and gently press each button (usually holding the housing in a rinse tank.) This seems to flush small grains of sand away BEFORE lubing with the eye dropper and liquid silicone as shown in the link.
Back home I give the housing a good long soak dissolving salt crystals for 24-48 hours, housing sealed with no camera inside. Occasionally I press the buttons changing the water each day over a couple days.
I also soak my strobes sealed up (no batteries) plus my wrist dive computers and regulator with dust cap in (don’t push the purge while submerged !!!!!!)