There should be no harm in polishing the headjoint with regular silver polish. You could probably even unscrew the crown and push the headjoint cork from the crown end out through the tennon end. Then a thourough bath in dish soap and water, followed by a polish. Rewash, grease the cork, and push it back in through the tennon end and screw the crown back on.
Choose a polish without harsh abrasives. If the head plating is good, it should clean up very nicely. If the plating is worn off, there is probably not much you can do with it.
If the cork is stuck, dunking is probably not the best idea. If it's loose, you probably need to have it recorked.
flute cleaning advice
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
Re: flute cleaning advice
btw... thanks mirwa for the advice on costs... I did some checking around, and got a slightly better price (would you believe $25 for the same stuff I'd got quoted before? Go figure...). I came home and returned with my flute a few hours later, and look forward to seeing it midweek with the few tweeks done 