TARNISH?!

confessionalism · Post by **confessionalism** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:53 am

I'm using a school flute. I'm first chair but my band director didn't realize I'd be this good so he gave me the crappiest flute at the beginning of the year. There is tarnish all around the keys. I am green with envy of all my other friends flutes. They're beautiful with not one touh of tarnish. How can I remove the tarnish without damaging the keys on my own?

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:14 pm

Well it's really only a cosmetic issue, and won't affect the way the flute plays, but they make polishing cloths that you can buy at most music stores that do a decent enough job. Just be sure not to try to force it under the mechanism while you're polishing, and you should be alright. And to help prevent tarnish in the future, wipe down the flute after each time you play it. The oils and sweat that come off our hands help to contribute to tarnish. Be sure not to use a liquid or powder polish (most commercial polishes actually), as they are often too harsh, and can get into the pads and cause you some serious problems.

chalet · Post by **chalet** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:23 pm

Is it a silver or nickel plated flute?

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:54 pm

Well if it's tarnished, it's silver plated (or possibly silver). Nickel does not tarnish.

confessionalism · Post by **confessionalism** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:15 pm

About that, I have seen these polishing cloths but one of them says Silver Polishing Cloth and the other one says Lacquered Polishing Cloth. What's the different between the two? Does one do a better job than the other?

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:58 pm

The one for lacquer is for instruments that have a lacquer finish, the other is for silver finished or silver instruments (flutes). These work fine, but you should be aware of a few things. First, if used too often, the finish of your flute may wear off, especially on gold lip plates. Second, they contain a powder residue that may damage your pads if you get it on them. Finally, the constant polishing of tarnish sometimes causes tarnish to form more rapidly.

I only recommend that students use them occasionally, if at all. The cloths that I use are made from a material called microfiber. I bought mine at a flute fair. They will take tarnish off as well as protect the finish, but still should be used sparingly. Tarnish strips (you can buy from fluteowrld) help to inhibit the forming of tarnish. You place them inside your case and they are designed to absorb impurities that cause tarnish. However, they will not take tarnish off of the flute.

Tarnish does not effect the sound of your instrument, and a trained tech can take it off the nest time it is repadded. How your flute looks does not matter in the big picture. My favorite flute is an older Haynes that has a bit of tarnish as well as a few scratches. It is not nearly as pretty as my other flutes, but it outplays all of them