Can Zoom ring of 18-55 kit lens be lubricated/fixed at home?

I've looked up several posts about sticking zoom rings.  Most of the advice is to "return the lens to the seller for a refund" , or "send to Nikon for repair".  In my case, I bought my D5100 used with the 18-55mm kit lens on it -- so returning to seller is out of the question.  What I would like to know:  is there any way to lubricate the zoom ring on the 18-55 kit lens on a do-it-yourself basis?  Has anyone done it?  How difficult is it?  Is it even possible -- or is Nikon (or an experienced repair shop) the only option?

I don't remember that the zoom ring was "sticky" when I first tested it at time of purchase -- but the camera and lens were entirely new to me, so I may have just been ignorant of how it should have properly functioned.  As I have used the lens now for the past 2-3 months, either the "stickiness" of the zoom ring has increased -- or I have just grown more frustrated with using it.  The "stickiness" I refer to can only be described as a bit of resistance in turning the zoom ring at slow speed in particular, so that the zooming in and out is not smooth, but rather jerky.  The lens has not been abused or dropped by me -- and as far as I could tell when I bought it -- by the previous owner.  Auto focus works fine, and there is no jerkiness when using the ring to quickly zoom in or out with some applied gusto.  The jerky movement only occurs when you try to slowing zoom in or out and is especially bothersome when trying to record video.

This is not an expensive or ultra high quality lens.  It just seems to me it would not be very cost effective to pay Nikon or a shop to fix the zoom ring when I can probably buy a good used replacement for under $100.  It's not a bad lens, but since it can be so cheaply replaced, I'd be willing to experiment a bit with this lens, if anyone has any ideas (like maybe squirting under the ring with silicone spray?).

Is this too crazy an idea?

Thanks for the links, Rafael.  Dropping gun oil around the zoom ring circumfrence seems like the most simplest fix to try first, but there seems to be some controversy about which oil is the best to use.  I'm hoping maybe my local repair shop may have some free advice! If that doesn't work, it look like disassembling the lens like the YouTube video showed would probably be the next step.  I would hope the design of the 18-55 lens would be similar enough to the 24-70 in the video that I could follow the instructions without panicking!

kiirokurisu wrote:

Can I play devil's advocate here and suggest that lubrication might not be the issue? The two copies of the lens that I once owned both had very stiff, sticky zoom rings. I suspect it's just the way the zoom cam system is designed on that particular lens - it is after all Nikon's lowest priced zoom lens.

It looks like you are right. I took the camera to a repair shop and the owner said that's just the way the cheap kit lens operates. There is really no lubrication for that lens, and the stickiness is most likely a result of all the plastic it is composed of. He also thought that dropping any oil around the ring circumfrence would just make it even worse -- so it least I didn't ruin it by experimenting. I won't get much, but perhaps I can sell it and put the proceeds towards an 16-85 VR lens that people say is so much better.