>Joost Willemen wrote:
>>
>> I just purchased a 2nd hand SLR camera in good condition, except for the
>> mirror which has a little dust cover. So, the question is: is there a
>> way an amateur can savely clean a SLR mirror, without:
>> - damaging the mirror surface;
>> - distributing the dust in other parts of the camera.

Do NOT blow the dust off the mirror (some of it will be blown to the upper, inaccessable, surface of the viewing screen), unless the viewing screen is removeable for cleaning. What works well for me is to breath lightly UP into the camera (to prevent spit marks), then LIGHTLY twirl a fresh Q-Tip (it
helps to wash your hands with detergent first) on the fogged surface, moving it in a swirling pattern until the fog just clears. Use a fresh Q-Tip with
each fogging, and a very light touch (even so, it is likely that you will
cause a few light scratches in the front-surface mirror [which will not
cause problems until there are a lot of them], so I consider this level of cleaning an emergency measure to be used with dusty used cameras only). If needed for removing a fingerprint, a bit of window cleaner can be added to a Q-Tip for the first go-around, followed by the above to finish.
Hope This Helps