dear folks:

i was given a flute over a year ago. i kept it out of the case and kept it put together so that i could play it at any opportunity since i was still learning. i'm sure all of you know what happened. it tarnished and tarnished bad. what is the simplest way to get the flute shiny again? is there a way that i could keep the flute in a cloth bad to prevent tarnish but still have the flute put together so i wouldn't have to keep taking it apart and putting it back together?

any advice that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

you got that right. i can barely put the 3 pieces together, take them apart, and put them back in the slots correctly. and i couldn't tell you how many times i paniced when i blew into the flute and got nothing and after repeated attempts remembered i forgot to take the fuzzy stick out of the middle piece.

but still, good advice from micron--i like the idea about the carbon!

micron does not give good advice. take it from some whose been playing flute for 7 years and also sels them for a living. The best way to remove tarnish from a flute is to take it to a trained repair man at your local dealer. The BEST way to keep tarnish off an instrument is to clean it after every use and to ALWAYS put it away. very so often you can wipe it down with a tarnish removing cloth. THAT'S IT. NEVER, EVER, EVER, use any kind of silver polish on an instrument of any kind!!!!!! It will ruin the instrument.

re: Micron's advice

It appears that no matter what he says, Micron is shot down by people. Either they complain that he is too technical and says it should be done by a trained technician, or they shoot him down because he actually describes what needs to be done.

Go figure!?!?

" i forgot to take the fuzzy stick out of the middle piece."

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think those fuzzy sticks are a good idea. You swab out your wet flute, then you stick the wet fuzzy thing into your flute and store it....right next to the pads!

It is a much better idea to use a clean, thin cloth (cotton works well, like a handkerchief), and do not store the cloth in with your flute. I keep mine in my bag.

Are we talking about padsavers? I thought you swabbed out your flute with a seperate piece of cloth, then stuck it in to get any moisture you may have missed.

Anyway, technically, Micron does give good advice. The original poster asked 'what is the simplest way to get the flute shiny again' and what Micron described IS (i'm assuming here) the simplest way. It'd be different if the poster asked 'what is the simplest way for ME to get the flute shiny again' to which the answer would probably be take it to a skilled technician.

Micron gives fine advice. By the way...HOW long habve you been playing? Did you say 7 years? My fluteboy, that is not long at all. When you reach the skill and playing time that most of us here that offer advice - then you may tell people looking for advice as to who gives horrible tips or not. I have been playing for over twice that long. I give lots of advice, but I also learn a lot from people who have played longer than I have. Please don't think that after 7 years you know it all. If you do that you will be SOOO disappointed in the real world!

-Dennis

NEVER, EVER, EVER, use any kind of silver polish on an instrument of any kind!!!!!! It will ruin the instrument.

I guess then that I am breaking the rules too because when I work on flutes and have them apart I use Haverty's polish with R-22 tarnish preventative.
Micron has been playing the flute a lot longer then 7 years and is highly trained in his field. Take it from me, he has helped me out a lot in my process of learning repairs.

He really is just trying to help.

dear folks: thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. that's the good news. after reading your replies, i have to reply about your replies. this was my first visit to your forum and my feeling was that you folks, besides being interested in being helpful, give a very poor impression of yourselves. i don't believe that any of you offered me encouragement but you did offer me your advice and opinion about other members of the forums. some of this advice was well intentioned since i don't have a clue how to take a flute apart and sure wasn't even going to go down that route. you all started bickering with each other about your credentials, experience, knowledge, and how much better you were than the other person. i didn't go back to read every tiny detail of your replies because your insider bickering was not relevant to my needs. my IMPRESSION (after a quick read and i could possibly be in error) was that it's going to take me longer than 7 years to get anywhere on the flute and there are a heck of a lot of snobby people who play the flute. is that the kind of impression that you were hoping to give? i'm not going to mention my own musical credentials other than being new to the flute because i am sure that some if not most of you will have more knowledge and experience than me. rest assured, you're better than me.

i read a few of the other recent threads too so i know this wasn't an isolated incident of you folks bickering. do you all remember when you were new to the flute? i wish you all could have made me feel like this was a welcoming site that i could benefit from as i learned more about the flute. i'm sure i'll have more questions as i learn the flute.

best wishes,
mutepointe

Mutepointe, you can buy flute covers that are designed to protect your flute from dust and gunk while assembled (on a stand) and are lined with a tarnish-prevention cloth. It probably won't remove any tarnish you've already accumulated, but once you have your flute shining again, these covers are pretty nifty. Check them out here: http://www.wirkkaladesigns.com/flutecover.html

dear nina:

thanks for the advice. do you happen to know what the mystery tarnish preventing cloth is? i think i could make my own cover if i knew that.

mutepointe

I did a google search and came up with this:

http://www.silverguard.com/pacific_silvercloth.htm

My guess is that it's something like this. Maybe a different manufacturer, but similar anyways.

I *heart* Google, btw

Now that I'm reading more about it, I wonder why case manufacturers haven't incorporated this stuff into case design? How cool would it be if your case actively prevented your flute from tarnishing? Instead, we spend lots of money on things like 3M strips and polishing cloths...

That's a good point, but wouldn't the same thing happen with silverware, jewelry, etc? It sounds like it's effective in these applications.