Hi everyone! I stumbled across your forum, and I thought I`d ask about the problem I`ve been having. My own flute has been leaving black tarnish on my lips, and the same with a school flute I borrowed to see if it made a difference. As they are both silver-plated, I suspect they simply need to be cleaned....does anyone know of a way to clean the silver without damaging the flutes?

Thanks,
Alex

you can clean them with a silver cloth, but that is sometimes what can leave a black mark on your lips. After cleaning witha silver cloth wipe the mouth peice with a soft cloth and it should help stop it

you could just have a reaction to the metal. Have you tried playing a Solid Silver flute? Does the same problem happen?

A few years ago, I had the same thing happen, and I was playing on a silver plated flute, and there was a reaction between the acne face lotion I was using which caused the black `tarnish`. The problem went away when I switched to a solid silver headjoint. I would be careful about using a treated polishing cloth, because that could just make it worse. Try wiping your headjoint down with just a clean cotton cloth.

You could try to convince your parents that you are having an allergic reaction and see how keen they are on getting you a better headjoint.

If all else fails you can coat half the lip plate (the side which touches your lips) with clear nail polish. The clear polish will provide a barrier and comes right off quite easily.

Heck... coat your lip plate in FRONT of your parents for added effect.

The silver plating is very likely reacting with an ingredient in some cosmetic or acne preparation you have been using. This is particularly likely if the preparation contains sulfur or a sulfur-containing compound.

There is a range of silver compounds, especially silver sulfide, which are either black or turn black on exposure to sunlight.

If this is the reason, then changing to a solid silver head would make no difference. However lacquering the lip plate, perhaps with clear nail polish, would be one solution.

Note that if you eat a lot of egg, onions, garlic, or dried fruit preserved with sulfur, then your perspiration could contain sulfur compounds too, as indeed your flatus would :-)

Awesome, you`ve all been very helpful. I`ll give everything a try... Hope to talk to you again.Thanks!
Alex

Last year, one of my friends has had this problem, and it is just a reaction to your skin. Nothing is wrong with your flute

It really is quite common when playing the flute to get that black smudge under your chin. A lot of my students have the same problem. I get it every now and then if I have just polished my headjoint with a treated polish cloth.

Unless you are getting some sort of rash with it, I would juts wipe it off when done playing and not worry about it.

I did some research and the silver can react to makeup or anything that is on your skin I think some people have already said that tho

There is another solution for this, and I will have to double check to the type of tape again, but there is actually a postage tape you can trim to fit your lip plate and you actually lick it to get it to stick on to your flute. After a week or so, you peel it right off, it leaves no residue, and you trim another piece to put in its place. It was insanely cheap for a large roll of it, and like I said, it left no messy residue at all behind. I used to use it for a long time due to the make up reaction, and also due to a sensitive skin issue.

Like others have stated, not really my lips but whenever I wear foundation or lotion right under my lip get black/gray smears when I play and several other flutists in my band had that problem. I would just avoid foundation under my chin if I knew I was playing flute, especially on concerts. A salesman told me a gold lip plate would prevent that from happening. I don`t know if that is 100% true, but maybe. But he also asked me did it feel different when I played the gold lip plated flute versus a silver one. I`m like em...nooo...and he proceded to say it should not react with anything on my face or lips like foundation and I guess he interpreted you`d feel somthing different in playing? What?! I can buy maybe not reacting with certain products on your face. I was not wearing foundation so I don`t know if it`s true but if anyone can confirm it might be a good investment if as others mentioned about your prespiration if that`s reacting with it or if you want to continue makeup or lotion.

Unless the type of gold used on a flute is different from jewelry...I think he is very wrong. Take a gold ring and run it down your face while wearing make up and see what happens

What happens? I don`t wear makeup.

1. Gold plating is very soft and where you are constantly putting your chin against it and wiping it, it will quickly wear.

2. Worn gold plating may still LOOK gold, but it may be porous enough for the silver underneath it to react with whatever contacts the gold. Furthermore, in this situation, electrolytic corrosion may be set up, resulting in eroding (pitting) of the silver under the gold.

3. Much gold plating is exceedingly thin, only for decoration. In this case, what is described in `2` will more than likely already be happening.

So if you really want gold to, to avoid metal reacting with sweat, or avid allergies, then you may as well push for solid gold, or lacquer over silver.

LOL Ed,

Any gold that is 10k and up will leave a black streak the width of the gold right down your cheek. As bad as this is when a few friends and I were in JR. High (way back in the day) it was a way to pick on each other. There was nothing more annoying at that age than going through the effort of putting on a face, and then having your friend leave a 6 inch black streak down your cheek!