Gritty lens barrel

[AnneWynne]

Got some sand and salt water on the end of my telelphoto lens (but saved the camera and did not fully dunk my lens). Cleaned it off as best I could at the time, then more so once home. (Yes, I do keep a lens filter on all of my lenses...better to scratch that than the lens).

I think there is still some sand between the barrels of the lens as it feels like it is moving over some grit as I manually move the lens. Is there some way to clean the lens?
Will the grit migrate into the lens to create problems on the images captured with it?

I have considered trying to blow it out with canned air, but I am concerned that I might blow the grit in deeper. I have also been cleaning the barrels, trying to work out the grit.

I don't think it is a lot of grit, but I don't want to end up loosing the lens because of a bad trip.

The camera body is at the repair shop to be cleaned as a precaution (it did not get dunked, but it did get splashed with salt water), but they could not work on the lens.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Anne

[MovingStill]

I'd agree you probably shouldn't try to clean any further yourself, it would be very easy to make the problem worse. You should be able to find a service agent to clean the lens out - if your repair shop can't help try contacting the national agent for the lens manufacturer - they'll point you in the right direction.

[AnneWynne]

Update...some information if this problem ever happens to others:
Spoke to a repair tech who explained to me what the problem is and that it does need addressing.
The camera barrel has aluminum threads that the barrels move on, and there is grease on these threads. Because aluminum is very soft, even a tiny bit of grit can cause damage very quickly. I was advised to not mess with the lens and get it cleaned...which might mean sending it off for repair.
Bottom line is, it is not a do-it-yourself kind of fix, and it is less expensive to clean it now than to replace it later.