hi all!
I recently acquired a lovely Eb flute which have a sticky G# pad. Do you have any advice to reduce the stickiness?
thanks beforehand
M
Are you sure it’s the pad? Try removing the key (it’s easy) and scraping out the channel in the block with a toothpick. If your flute is post-mounted, forget this advice!
I found with a piccolo that I acquired that the keys suddenly started working properly after I had removed them and thoroughly cleaned the keys and the springs as well as the channel. I’d go with Pat’s idea of a toothpick, but just add to be very careful when using it and make sure it’s a wooden toothpick and not a plastic one, which is more likely to damage the wood, IMO.
With the pad itself, you can clean it off with almond oil, provided you use a tiny amount and clean it off thoroughly afterwards. Well, it’s worked for me, anyhow. (Cue for Jem to throw his hands up in horror 
)
Oil on the pads??? Don’t we remove the keys when oiling the flute to prevent this?
If it is actually the pad and not the channel, take a thin cigarette paper and drag it between the pad and opening while gently pressing the pad key down. Do this a few times. Should remove any grime on the pad itself.
Arbo
Yes we do. (Well, actually, I can never be bothered, but I know you’re supposed to.) I was envisaging the sort of state my piccolo was in. Dreadful gunk, on pads as well. A TINY amount of almond oil helped me clean them. Don’t know whether Jem knows I did this … 
I put a little piece of plastic under the keys when I oil - bread bags work great.
Music stores sell small pads of paper – similar to cigarette rolling papers – for cleaning pads. The most effective kind are powdered (with what, I couldn’t say).
flute is pin mounted, it’s definitely not the key action.. the key pad tends to stick to the wood.
I’ll give the smoking paper trick a try and let you know..
still sticky unfortunately..the pad looks blue-ish, I would like to remove the key to inspect the pad..
there’s any tip I should know before I try to remove the key? that’s the first time I need to remove a key on a pin mounted flute.
thanks in advance
M
You could try one of the little alcohol swabs on it - works on my silver flute. Just don’t get a lot on there!
It’s pillar mounted, is it? Are the pins (axles) just pins or are they little screws? Check with a magnifying glass before removing. If they’re just pins, my suggestion if you do want to remove it is to get a pair of flat-bladed, parallel pliers. Not too expensive and will last forever. Won’t damage the pin if you use one of those. If they’re screwed in, you’ll need a set of jewellers’ screwdrivers. They’re cheap too, and will also last forever.
Having thought, it’s a modern flute, yes? So it’s almost certainly just pins as the axles.
What are the pads made of? If they are blue, they could be foam, and the rubber is breaking down.
Try putting a bit of talcum powder in the pad, very little amount. It will work for sure.
Regards,
S.
I’ve not had good luck with talcum powder on sticky pads; however, I have used zinc stearate powder with good success.
The last time i bought zinc stearate–years ago, even a small jar lasts forever–it was inexpensive and readily available in hardware stores.
–James
OK, better late than never (maybe?).
First things first, slap Mr Hall’s wrists!
The advice to first check the free action of the key (whatever type) and spring was sensible. Check the edges of the cup are not catching in the key-bed. Do carefully check the action of the spring in particular - if it is sticking where its free point contacts the flute body, that can have an effect very similar to a sticky pad. If all is free and moving as it should, then on to the pads.
I’m going to assume we are dealing with natural leather pads, whether old wool-stuffed purse pads or modern felt/card ones. I would never oil pads. (If you accidentally get bore oil on them while oiling the flute itself, I don’t think that’s a panic, but do wipe 'em off carefully!)
The only conceivable circumstance I can think of for oiling leather pads possibly being a good plan would be if you were trying to revive very old pads whose leather had gone hard and dry. I’ve heard of folk doing that when they didn’t want to replace otherwise intact, original, antique purse pads and they set about re-softening them. I can see a conservatorial argument for doing that, but personally, for a regularly played non-museum instrument I’d probably go for replacing them. Bear in mind one of the reasons for old pads going hard (and tacky) is precisely that they got oil on them! Of course, leather will also go hard when wetted and then allowed to dry.
As for cleaning up otherwise serviceable pads which are still supple, just sticky, I’d take the key off and very gently wipe the pad surface with a spit-moistened cotton cloth, or maybe dip the cloth in warm water with a little washing-up liquid in it. If that didn’t suffice, I’d try a little alcohol (surgical spirit/meths) or acetone. If you are dealing with standard modern card/felt-backed leather pads, don’t rub too much - the leather surface can start to rub away and you’ll end up needing to repad.
Once cleaned, dab the pad dry and wait until it is fully dry before replacing it on the flute. Remember also to clean the key-bed with your cloth and whatever you’ve moistened it with! No point putting your clean pad back on a tacky surface! Also check there is no damage to the bed/the rim of the tone-hole which might be catching the pad where it bells into the hole (and check the hole is clean too!).
FWIW, I don’t think the various dusting solutions suggested are really relevant - that can help with pads faced with goldbeaters’ skin (Bohm flute type pads), but probably won’t help much with leather ones and could just contribute to an unhelpful build-up of gunge.
leather will also go hard when wetted and then allowed to dry unevenly.
(usually caused by drying one side too quickly)
OK. Which one of you ratted on me? Eh? 
No need. I see all…
grasshopper … we but needed to wait