Cleaning Salt Spray

I just returned from a trip to the Oregon Coast. My D2x and lenses were subjected to a small amount of salt spray, which I cleaned as best I could right away. Now that I'm back, I'm wondering what advice I can get for a thorough cleaning. I can certainly do a cleaning myself, but the spray must have gotten into places I cannot reach. Any advice? Thanks.

I live on the gulf coast, and have been sprayed, sloshed, and soaked with salt water more times than I care to remember. I never had any actual damage caused by light spray to date. I do wipe them down with a slightly dampened rag when I get home, and clean the lenses, etc., but other than that give them no special treatment. The only problems I've had has been with camera strap rings, at least back when they were metal. Often they're just chrome plated and will not stand up to salt. If your D2X received more than just a light coating of salt spray you may want to contact Nikon, but if it's really bad the damage has probably already been done by now, unless you're lucky enough to have a neighborhood Nikon Service Center within reach. Over the years I've lost a Nikon F, F2, and 2 N80's to salt. None were submerged, only thoroughly doused by waves. Lost the lenses too BTW. Nikon said they weren't repairable. Salt = BAD STUFF!

My experience and recommendation follow closely with Bill's.

I have on a couple of occasions taken things past the "light spray" stage. Results are immediate and there's no question of a fix.

Salt water is one of the most corrosive things you can let a camera be exposed to.
Just allowing it in the first place is foolish, since it can ALWAYS be avoided,
so not to take steps to avoid salt spray is just asking for trouble.
You avoid it by using one of the cheap bag-type protectors that some places
sell, or if nothing else, wrap plastic baggies around every part that is exposed from
the lens threads back over the entire camera with just a small hole for the eyepiece.
Preset all controls before hand, then wrap the camera, and shoot.
You can take a few minutes to protect your gear, or you can pay to replace it later.

I take my 1 series EOS cameras and L lenses on billfishing and dolphin tournaments all the time. I use a simple protocol; the camera stays in the case until needed, it's only out long enough for the money shot, and it gets wiped down with a wet towel before it goes back in the case. On returning to the docks I'll thoroughly wipe it down again. So far I haven't had any problems with this approach. I don't do dumb stuff like shooting a tail-dance while the captain is backin down in rough seas. That's a guaranteed salt water bath, not a little sea spray. Those images just go home as memories.