Originally posted by slr_neophyte Ooops....there were some annoying particles whenever I looked through my viewfinder. I tried blowing it...nothing changed. So, I took a Q-tip and rubbed it around on the viewfinder screen. Now, when I look through it, it appears worse - possible scratched. I did read somewhere that this is an extremely delicate piece....but a Q-tip, scratching it?? Let me know if this is probably what happened. Fortunately my photos are unaffected...too bad my view isn't as clean as it was when it was new though.
Are you describing the Viewfinder or Focusing Screen (I think Focusing Screen)? If you tried to blow it out and nothing improved, the dirt is most likely inside the Prism, above the Focusing Screen. To get that out, you would need to lower the Screen and blow carefully*.
*I did at one time lower the focusing screen to clean out dust and debris, my enthusiastic effort, not only removed much of the dust, etc. but I managed to blow the screen out of camera and onto my carpeted floor. With nothing to lose, I just picked it up and cleaned it with lens cleaner on a micro fiber cloth and reinstalled. Looked cleaner and works nicely. Not as delicate as one would think or I was just lucky...