Boxwood and fingerprints

[Doc Jones]

Boxwood is, without a doubt, the finest of all timbers for making an extra-ordinary sounding flute.

The problem is that, with use, the boxwood gets fingerprint stains on the tone holes or anywhere else a finger rests.

Does anyone know of a way to get these off or Prevent them?

Doc

[Congratulations]

You want to hide signs you've been playing? For shame! I love the patina my metal whistles get around the fingerholes when I've been playing them for years, and if I had a boxwood flute, I'd cherish those stains in much the same way. But I'm an odd bird.

[chas]

There's certainly no way to reverse them.

As for reducing their growth, I've noticed that my Olwell is getting stained at a much slower rate than my Bleazey did. It could be that the Olwell has some sort of coating (wax?), or it could simply be the much finer surface polish. It certainly doesn't appear to absorb any oil on the outside when I oil it.

[Doc Jones]

Yeah the boxwood Olwells I've had have had a really glossy finish. I'm not sure what he's doing there but was going to ask if anyone kenw for sure.

Doc

[greenspiderweb]

Hi Patrick,

I have no experience with boxwood, but if you could clean the wood in some way, and then apply some kind of finsh to the outside, like a wax, it might help.

The fellow who makes Bore Doctor, has all kinds of care products for wooden instruments, and two of them do exactly that-the woodwind cleaner, and micro-crystalline wax, said to be used in museums, might be helpful. They are listed here as items DA6 and DA7:

http://www.doctorsprod.com/accessories.html

A flute restorer might be able to help you answer this best though.

[Unseen122]

I was wondering about this. My Burns has them.

[Loren]

Without knowing exactly how the maker finished the instrument (oil, varnish, shellac, wax, nothing, etc.) it's impossible to recommend the "best" method.

That said, and the warning to check with the maker first applying, the following agents can be used on Boxwood - by that I mean it won't hurt the wood, however some of these will remove certain finishes: Soap/water solution, paint thinner, denatured alcohol, acetone. Any and all of these "may" be enough, and any or all of these "may" leech the color out of the wood temporarily, but oiling normally restores the color. However, very often the problem lies not on the surface, but deeper in the wood. I don't have time to describe in complete detail, but essentially, the final surface finish has a lot to do with the how the instrument was turned - the sharpness of the cutting tool, the speed at which the wood was turned etc., all of which affect the smoothness of the finish on a microscopic level. It is NOT just a function of what final grit sandpaper was used, because during the final turning process, a certain amount of tearing out of wood fibers below the surface occurs, the more this happens, the more common it is for dirt to accumlate below the surface, and then one can usually only get to the dirt by sanding. Sanding is fine, when done properly, however this will change the color of the wood, which many find an undesirable side effect.

At any rate, the differences in why one Boxwood instrument resists getting dirty more than another can have to do with the way the maker turns and sands, or it may have to do with the final wax, shellac, varnish, etc. finish, or both. I won't speculate with regards to Mr. Olwell's work (how he approaches finishing), as someone who works for him posts here on occasion and may or may not choose to give an answer, certainly it's not for me to say.

One last important warning about using chemicals to clean one's flute: Real Ivory can withstand all the chemicals I've listed, however, many of the Ivory subsitutes used to make the sort of rings found on Boxwood and other flutes, will not stand up to these same chemicals (or others), many Ivory substitutes can, and will, melt and or deform. My suggestion is that you NOT use ANY chemicals anywhere near these imitation rings, unless the maker of your flute has assured you it is safe.


Loren

[Lambchop]

Boxwood is, without a doubt, the finest of all timbers for making an extra-ordinary sounding flute.

The problem is that, with use, the boxwood gets fingerprint stains on the tone holes or anywhere else a finger rests.

Does anyone know of a way to get these off or Prevent them?

Doc

Wash your hands? I do not have any stains on my boxwood, but I do not smoke and I do wash my hands before playing. I also keep it oiled.

[Unseen122]

Who is the maker? If Loren is correct (which I expect he is), then it all has to do with how the wood was finished. I have usually clean hands and do not smoke and my Boxwood Flute has had prints on it the whole time I have had it.

[chas]

Boxwood is, without a doubt, the finest of all timbers for making an extra-ordinary sounding flute.

The problem is that, with use, the boxwood gets fingerprint stains on the tone holes or anywhere else a finger rests.

Does anyone know of a way to get these off or Prevent them?

Doc

Wash your hands? I do not have any stains on my boxwood, but I do not smoke and I do wash my hands before playing. I also keep it oiled.

Who is the maker? If Loren is correct (which I expect he is), then it all has to do with how the wood was finished. I have usually clean hands and do not smoke and my Boxwood Flute has had prints on it the whole time I have had it.

It also has to do with the individual, independent of the individual's hygiene. No amount of washing your hands will change the pH of your sweat. And acidic sweat is going to stain boxwood. This can be slowed by good finish and applying finish to the flute, but nothing short of an absolute barrier is going to stop it.

One thing I forgot about in my previous post about my Olwell staining more slowly than my Bleazey is that I now never shave below my lip -- I started this as a way to keep flutes from slipping on my lip, but I think it definitely keeps sweat away from the flute. I had always wondered why lip plates were shaped the way they are, till I noticed that the Bleazey has a nice dark-yellow patch around the embouchure hole, shaped exactly like a lip plate.

[Unseen122]

That reminds me of the disscussion of Blackwood losing color around the Finger holes and embochure. Seems like the two are related.

[chas]

That reminds me of the disscussion of Blackwood losing color around the Finger holes and embochure. Seems like the two are related.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. With boxwood, though, there's a well established link between acid and the wood darkening/staining.

[Doc Jones]

Boxwood is, without a doubt, the finest of all timbers for making an extra-ordinary sounding flute.

The problem is that, with use, the boxwood gets fingerprint stains on the tone holes or anywhere else a finger rests.

Does anyone know of a way to get these off or Prevent them?

Doc

Wash your hands? I do not have any stains on my boxwood, but I do not smoke and I do wash my hands before playing. I also keep it oiled.

It also has to do with the individual, independent of the individual's hygiene. No amount of washing your hands will change the pH of your sweat. And acidic sweat is going to stain boxwood. This can be slowed by good finish and applying finish to the flute, but nothing short of an absolute barrier is going to stop it.

Thanks for that Charlie. I was starting to feel like a slob.

I'm not dirty, I just have a low pH. Hope my kids don't catch on to that idea. Bath night is already a bit of a circus around here.

Doc

[Jon C.]

That reminds me of the disscussion of Blackwood losing color around the Finger holes and embochure. Seems like the two are related.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. With boxwood, though, there's a well established link between acid and the wood darkening/staining.

But it looks nice after 200 years...

[Sillydill]

Or even just 150 years!