Maintence tips please
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Maintence tips please
I was never taught how to care for my instrument. I heard that you can polish your instrument, oil it, and do all sorts of things I need to do to it. I curently am just wiping out the moisture with a cloth attached to a string, and I have a padsaver. I do have a polishing cloth but I have never used it before. Can someone tell me what I can do?
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fluteguy18
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm
First of all, your pad saver is one of those big fuzzy sticks right? Throw it away. It holds moisture in the flute and the fibers/fuzzy stuff get stuck in the mechanism. A flute tech once told me that the fibers getting into the mechanism was the number one reason why he was staying in business. So toss it out. The fabric attached to the string (if it has a weight on the string) can put dents in the flute. Just use the cleaning rod with a lint free cloth through the end of it.
Use a lint free cloth to wipe off skin oils. Microfiber (or similar) is generally best. Don't use a cloth that turns black when you use it. It contains an abrasive polish that strips off small layers of metal. If you have a flute that is plated, it will gradually take off the plating.
Don't attempt polishing or oiling your flute on your own. To do these properly you must disassemble the flute COMPLETELY (not just taking the keys off, but taking them off and apart). Oiling must be done in that manner. Polishing should as well, but because of the variety of polishes out there (abrasive/non-abrasive) it would be too easy to mess it up. Let your repairman take care of these issues for you.
Use a lint free cloth to wipe off skin oils. Microfiber (or similar) is generally best. Don't use a cloth that turns black when you use it. It contains an abrasive polish that strips off small layers of metal. If you have a flute that is plated, it will gradually take off the plating.
Don't attempt polishing or oiling your flute on your own. To do these properly you must disassemble the flute COMPLETELY (not just taking the keys off, but taking them off and apart). Oiling must be done in that manner. Polishing should as well, but because of the variety of polishes out there (abrasive/non-abrasive) it would be too easy to mess it up. Let your repairman take care of these issues for you.
Well said fluteguy.
Sometimes it's also necessary to clean some sticky pads (they become noisy when keys are operated). This is done by putting cigar paper under the key and closing it. NEVER pull out the paper when the key is closed because this can damage the pad. Repeat many times changing the paper position so it absorbs better.
Sometimes it's also necessary to clean some sticky pads (they become noisy when keys are operated). This is done by putting cigar paper under the key and closing it. NEVER pull out the paper when the key is closed because this can damage the pad. Repeat many times changing the paper position so it absorbs better.