i bought a polishing cloth for my flute. (i have a silver plated flute.) and whenever i use it, a black color rubs off of the flute and onto my fingers and chin when i play it. it really bothers me because the only way to fix it is to rub it down again with a different cloth to get the black stuff off. can anyone tell me what it is and if i can do anything to prevent it?? thanx.

After polishing use a soft all cotton cloth. I use batting scraps from quilts, but any very soft cotton cloth would work.

Your polishing cloth has polishing compound in it give that shine. It will stay on the flute, just use 2 cloths, one for polishing and one for cleaning up the polish.

It might be something to do with the chemicals in your particular polishing cloth. SOME cloths are of very low quality, especially in the abrasive agent they are impregnated with.

So is it a reputable, well-established brand name, such as Goddards or Haggerty... see more names in the link below

Ihave used Goddards for decades and have never had this problem, although WHILE I am actually using the cloth some black will get on my fingers.

Another possibility is that there is a reaction occuring with some other chemical you get on your fingers and face, perhaps cosmetics or acne preparation. For example some of these comtain sulphur compounds, which will definitely react with silver.

Something on this site may also help:
http://www.silversmithing.com/care.htm

I wouldn`t recommend using a treated polishing cloth on a plated flute.
If it is a once in a while thing, then that would be okay, but not an everyday thing.

The reason I say this is because it can take off the plating after a while. Another issue is that the powder in treated polishing cloths can get into your flutes mechanism.

On top of that you have to make sure to keep it away from the pads. It can cause quite a bit of damage to them if you are not careful. I myself was guilty of this when I was back in School playing on a Gemeinhardt.

A soft cotton cloth will work just the same to keep off unwanted finger prints and such.

Hope that helps.

I agree. Once in a while only.

I use such cloths mainly during complete flute overhauls, when a cosmetic spruce-up is in order.

On my own flute, I use one just for a psychological lift before an important performance. It is easy to fool my mind into thinking the flute plays better when it looks better. -; The shiny flute possibly makes the audience think I am, playing better too. Hehe!