Tarnish

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:46 am

not long ago, i started noticing these "spots" appearing on my flute.. they seem to be ranging from light brown to black. most of them are around the tone holes on the main body of the flute (not on the buttons).

however, my head joint seems relatively clean of the stuff. it can't be rubbed off.. anyone know what caused it? i think it's tarnish.. or is it something else?

briolette · Post by **briolette** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:54 am

If it's a plated flute and the base metal is something like brass or copper, it is possible that there's some corrosion going on especially if the plating is somewhat compromised. Does it sort of have a rainbow halo around the spots?

Otherwise, I would assume it's merely tarnish.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Fri May 04, 2007 10:17 am

It is hard to be sure without seeing the flute, but odds are it is just a bit of tarnish, and nothing much to be worried about. Most silver/silver plated flutes will have some tarnish on them (unless they're fresh from an overhaul, or otherwise cleaned and polished), and tarnish is only a cosmetic issue that won't affect how the flute plays, so there's really no need to worry about it.

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Fri May 04, 2007 9:24 pm

it's a silver plated, nickel silver body. there seems to be a very thin line of rainbow around it? could it be the plating coming off? it's a school flute so it is pretty old. it's a altus 907 if needed.

i also uploaded a portion of it so you can see it. it's the dark brown-black area between the keys thats the tarnish. it's a bit blur cause it's taken with a phone camera.

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flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat May 05, 2007 11:38 am

To tell you the truth, I really can't figure out what's going on from that picture because it's not detailed enough for me to actually see anything besides blurred outlines of keys. Sorry. Odds are it's not the plating coming off, particularly given that the brown/blackness has appeared in such a low contact area. If you're legitimately concerned, though, take it to a repair tech and see what they have to say.

briolette · Post by **briolette** » Sat May 05, 2007 12:24 pm

I personally think if the sound isn't compromised, don't worry about it.

From the photo it looks like there is some corrosion that occurred underneath and around the key areas (this is where the air comes out to an extent and there's light amount of condensation). Since this is an old flute, over time it's caused some light wear. I've seen this in other flutes and they seem to play fine. Don't worry about it.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:04 pm

briolette wrote:I personally think if the sound isn't compromised, don't worry about it.

I definitely agree with that.

From the photo it looks like there is some corrosion that occurred underneath and around the key areas (this is where the air comes out to an extent and there's light amount of condensation).

Technically, tarnish is a type of corrosion, so in either case (mere tarnish v. plating being worn through), you'd be correct. What has caused the discoloration is likely more complex than just some condensation settling on/in the instrument, though. If it were just condensation doing that, you'd expect to see the bore of plated flutes affected similarly more often. In any case, what's caused it is of little import so long as the flute still plays well. If the corrosion had started to break down soldering holding the toneholes to the body (which isn't an issue with this particular model) or something, then it would be important to figure out what was happening and how to prevent it in future. For now, however, don't pay it too much attention. A simple pass with a polishing cloth (being careful not to force it into the mechanism) could probably tell you whether it's tarnish or a more serious form of corrosion.

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Sat May 05, 2007 7:10 pm

thanks for the help. my sound isn't compromised, so i won't worry about it. about the polishing cloth, i haven't been able to get it off with polishing cloth.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat May 05, 2007 7:35 pm

chaos0008 wrote:thanks for the help. my sound isn't compromised, so i won't worry about it. about the polishing cloth, i haven't been able to get it off with polishing cloth.

Well, depending on the cloth, how old it is, and how serious the corrosion is, the cloth might not take it off, but that does sound like it's not tarnish. But it's good that you've decided not to worry about it.

briolette · Post by **briolette** » Sat May 05, 2007 7:54 pm

I should have been more specific with the way I was using my terminology. I meant "tarnish" as in surface oxidation with the silver and "corrosion" as in the base metal underneath the plating reacting. When this happened, there tends to be somewhat of a rainbow halo around the dark areas. I've also seen some flutes where the plating looks like it's actually bubbling or flaking off...

Concerning the bore of the instrument, yes, it too would be dark in color. I have a very old school Emerson brass base metal flute with nickel silver plating and the bore is very dark in color. I don't think flutes are made this way any longer.

Either way, it seems like the flute plays fine. The discoloration is only cosmetic, so don't worry about it.

On a somewhat unrelated note, a friend of mine who directs a Jr. High band relayed to me a horror story of a gal who *spray painted* her flute because she wanted a gold flute! Goodness...

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Sat May 05, 2007 8:38 pm

alright, since it's just cosmetic and won't affect the playing.. i won't bother about it anymore ^^ thanks a lot of the help.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:03 pm

briolette wrote:
On a somewhat unrelated note, a friend of mine who directs a Jr. High band relayed to me a horror story of a gal who *spray painted* her flute because she wanted a gold flute! Goodness...

Claiken · Post by **Claiken** » Sun May 06, 2007 9:12 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:
briolette wrote:
On a somewhat unrelated note, a friend of mine who directs a Jr. High band relayed to me a horror story of a gal who *spray painted* her flute because she wanted a gold flute! Goodness...

I just made the same face!!!

Serpentine · Post by **Serpentine** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:05 am

Your friend must have been mad, and did her flute actually work after that?