How to keep a flute shiny?

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:27 pm

I took my flute apart today and buffed the silver parts. I also oiled the flute inside and outside. It looks pretty now, so shiny and new. Is there any possibility to keep this? The exterior starts to look dull again after a few days. The silver parts tarnish again in no time, too.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Ronbo · Post by **Ronbo** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:59 pm

Somebody once mentioned that woodwind wax would be good for the outside of a wooden flute, but I could not verify that. I just use a little oil on the outside from time to time and polish it when it needs it.

weedie · Post by **weedie** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:55 pm

"Woodwind Wax" ??....that sounds like something that I should have in my kit..!!..
Could anyone please elaborate on what it is... and its uses ???
Thanks....

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:25 pm

weedie wrote:"Woodwind Wax" ??....that sounds like something that I should have in my kit..!!..
Could anyone please elaborate on what it is... and its uses ???
Thanks....

There are various types of waxes that can be applied to woods, but typically they would be the sorts of waxes, like Tripoli for example, which would require application via a buffing wheel. Not practical for most flute owners, and most wax finishes don't last much longer than your typical oil finish anyway.

Longer lasting finishes can be applied, but then we're getting into the realm of varnishes and the like, which are best applied by a maker experienced with such finishes.

Loren

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:28 pm

Gabriel wrote:I took my flute apart today and buffed the silver parts. I also oiled the flute inside and outside. It looks pretty now, so shiny and new. Is there any possibility to keep this? The exterior starts to look dull again after a few days. The silver parts tarnish again in no time, too.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

What type of oil are you using?

Loren

daiv · Post by **daiv** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:16 pm

i would say you would have to maintain it regularly. i'm not so sure you would need to do a full overhaul every day to keep it looking purty. i used to polish my silver flute after every time i used it, but i have since been less diligent.

Aanvil · Post by **Aanvil** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:28 pm

daiv wrote:i would say you would have to maintain it regularly. i'm not so sure you would need to do a full overhaul every day to keep it looking purty. i used to polish my silver flute after every time i used it, but i have since been less diligent.

I've been in the habit when I play to keep a cloth over my knee.

I have a black tea towl. Its good for any extra "moisture", the occasional brew spillage (Heaven forbid) and a quick wipe down of the entire flute when she gets put away.

As daiv suggests, its a routine I kept from my silver flute playing days.

I also picked up a silver polish cloth that I keep handy by in my gig bag.

Aanvil, Clean and Sparkly, Aanvil

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:48 pm

daiv wrote:i used to polish my silver flute after every time i used it, but i have since been less diligent.

I used to polish my silver flute,

no, I didn't.....

norcalbob · Post by **norcalbob** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:01 pm

daiv wrote: i used to polish my silver flute after every time i used it, but i have since been less diligent.

Ever since I got my relatively inexpensive wooden flute, my expensive silver flute has been slowly changing color....

Terry McGee · Post by **Terry McGee** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:48 pm

Aanvil wrote: I have a black tea towl. Its good for any extra "moisture", the occasional brew spillage (Heaven forbid) and a quick wipe down of the entire flute when she gets put away.

Heh heh. I was playing in the session in Matt Malloy's pub in Westport in 2002. It was very crowded. A man squeezed through behind my chair, holding a tray full of pints, and tripped over a chair leg or something, tipping the 3 or 4 pints down the front of a lady in a white dress sitting right beside the session with her back to the wall. I remember her face as it all unfolded, joie de session turning to concern, then fear, horror and shock as the cool liquid infused through her attractive outer casing. A hush fell over the place - I'm sure everyone expected fireworks. But as she caught her breath, she laughed and said - well I'm not going to give up this seat! Tea towels were called for, arrived, and brigaded sodden back to the bar. Fresh pints followed, this time professionally delivered, and we played on with renewed vigour.

But back to the topic. I normally find that blackwood with an oiled finish takes on a nice patina with handling that doesn't really require much care. If however a high lustre wax has been applied, this is likely to rub off with handling and will need to be replenished. Ask the maker how they finished it and what they recommend to maintain that finish.

Silver will lose its lustre at a rate dependant upon the level of pollutants in the atmosphere. Those who used to live near gasometers will remember the effort mum had to put into keeping the silverware clean. Best thing with silver is not to let it get too corroded, as quite a bit of effort will be needed to bring it back. Get a silver cleaning cloth from a music store or jewellers and give the keys a rub over every week, or as soon as they appear to be dulling. It's no effort if done weekly.

We used to live in Ballarat in Victoria, a mining town that had a gasometer. When we moved to the cleaner air of Canberra around 1960, Mum asked me what she could use to clean her silverware. I recommended hypo (sodium thiosulphite, Na2 SO3 from memory) and it worked a treat. Unfortunately, Mum reasoned it also should work on aluminium saucepans. They turned black! Needless to say, it was all my fault.

Terry

Rob Sharer · Post by **Rob Sharer** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:56 pm

What, pray tell, is a gasometer? Cheers,

Rob

srt19170 · Post by **srt19170** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:16 pm

Rob Sharer wrote:What, pray tell, is a gasometer?

A large, expandable structure for holding natural gas. What this has to do with air quality I can't guess.

irish69 · Post by **irish69** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:57 pm

Gabriel wrote: It looks pretty now, so shiny and new. Is there any possibility to keep this?

You could always stop playing it and put it in a nice glass display case

cocusflute · Post by **cocusflute** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:09 pm

I use a blend of glycerin and hydroxyethyl cellulose. It gets slippery at times but it does stay nice and shiny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky_jelly

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:26 am

Rob Sharer wrote:What, pray tell, is a gasometer? Cheers,

Rob

Hrmph.....
Its a meter that measures gas usage in homes.

The apex of home cooking is achieved by a gas powered stove.
Electric stoves just can't obtain the instant shadings of heat that a gas stove can.

Interestingly two of the many houses I have lived in the past 15 years had gasometers and I have never ever had to polish the silver
on my Irish flute. (And I lived in Sydney for a spell, the most polluted city in the South Pacific).

Chiff and Fipple Forums

How to keep a flute shiny?

How to keep a flute shiny?

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