Hi, question for you guys who know about cleaning and maintenance - this is perhaps simple maintenance, but it’s something I’ve never done. The inside of the metal tube in the head (which you can see through the embouchure) on my antique flute needs a good clean; it’s not only dirty, it’s also very slightly gritty with very hard to get off dark (antique) grit. While the flute has sterling silver keys and rings, the inner tube is probably not silver and looks like a mix of silver and copper or brass colours…
First question: how to clean this?
Second question: how careful do you need to be about not scraping it, for example should I avoid using a toothbrush to scrub it?
Third question: how much does the texture (gritty versus totally clean and smooth) affect the sound when played?
Thanks!
Shane
Hi,
It can be very difficult to get the black crud off the inner liner. I use a metal rod with a scotch brute pad 3M product. I chuck it on a lathe and turn it at a high speed, it still takes a lot of work to get clean. You might try the same application by hand. The finish is debatable, but my belief is that the brass liner is tinned with a lead based metal, which is fairly soft and will scratch and sand off easily. Possible a detergent might loosen up the gunk, but be careful notto get it on the wood, as it can discolor the woods patina. A rough inner liner will effect the tone and volume, as it causes a perturbation to the air column.
You might try the following process. Obtain some Boraxo Hand Powder, moisten a soft cotton cloth and apply a little to the cloth, then using a wooden dowel try polishing the inside of the liner. I would echo Jon’s advice and not get it on the wood, although it is very mild in detergent action.
Borate salts have an affinity for oxides, particulary those of base metals. That’s the reason they are used in a variety of fluxes for both base and silver soldering.
If the dark colored material is an oxide, you should see some stain accumulating on your cloth. Slow and easy should get the job done. The base metals ( and some noble metals) give up their bound oxygen to the Boron in the borate salts.