In article <4cmth8$6q9@recepsen.aa.msen.com>, anewman@conch.aa.msen.com says...
>I was always told not to clean the mirrors on my own. While out west i
>devloped dust on the mirrors and tried unsuccesfully with lens paper to
>remove it. I then tried using my finger to remove the fibers from the
>mirror. The mirror is now dirty, and has a smudge from my finger on >it. So, what should i do to clean it?

The dust you saw was probably on the viewing screen, and, unless
your camera has interchangeable screens (a good reason for having
this feature is to allow you to remove and blow off the screen, and
also to be able to blow dust off the bottom of the prism), cleaning
the screen is a job for a repair person. The dust does not affect
the film image. Prevention is the best: point the body down when
the body is uncapped, keep the time it is uncapped to a minimum when
changing lenses, and avoid lens changes in windy locations.
About cleaning the mirror: it is front silvered, so some minor
damage will probably result from the cleaning process. Unless there
is a lot of damage, there will be little practical result (which is
why it is often best to leave some dust on the mirror, rather than
attempting to remove it). A finger print should be removed, since it will diffuse the viewing image somewhat (making focusing harder), and may eventually damage the mirror surface. The procedure: wash your
hands in dish detergent to remove finger oils. Wet a Q-Tip with
Windex, and LIGHTLY dampen the surface of the mirror where the fingerprint is (rolling the Q-Tip as you go). Take a clean Q-Tip
and dry the surface, if it is still wet, with the same LIGHT rolling
motion. Take another Q-Tip (always use fresh ones, they are cheaper
than the mirror), face the camera downward, breath onto the mirror
to fog it, and swirl the Q-Tip around on it with the same motion as before. Do this one or two more times until the mirror is clean.
Fish out any fibers that remain from the Q-Tips with another Q-Tip.
If the screen is removeable, preceed all of this with a gentle
air blow to remove some dust from the surface of the mirror before
cleaning it, and follow it with screen removal and air cleaning of
the mirror, both screen surfaces and the prism bottom surface.
A couple of light hairline scratches can be expected following
even the most careful mirror cleaning.
Hope This Helps