Noticed someone mentioning this in Jem’s new Piccolo topic-
my whistle & flute teacher (a very good player) oils his delrin flute and claims it smoothes the bore. I wouldn’t have thought it would make much difference. Does anybody else do this?
Ummmm… nooooo… I hope he uses cheap oil 'cause it doesn’t do anything!
Pat
Desi Seery recommends you oil the bore of his Delrin flutes. However, I have a Seery, and I’ve never oiled the bore, and the flute still plays very nicely.
If you did oil it, I would definitely not use a drying oil like linseed oil. Unlike a wooden flute, there won’t be any end-grain for it to penetrate, so all it would do would be to gradually build up a thicker and thicker coating in the bore, which would be a bad thing.
–James
If the bore of your polymer flute is “hairy,” i.e. not particularly well polished, and you’re one of those folks who likes the sound of a glassy bore, oiling the flute will move things in that direction.
Rob
Hey Kirikee,
I tried this as an experiment on my first Seery flute. I used olive oil, as it had the thickest viscosity of all my food oils on hand.
I noticed subtle differences, but not enough to justify continued use.
Nice thing is, it’s easy to clean up (can even use soap & water) and has no permanent effect upon the instrument.
Life Is the Great Experiment! 
Ditto the above…despite Desi Seery’s advice, I didn’t notice a significant difference. Now washing out with hot water once in a while does make a difference. Since we don’t routinely swab out polymer flutes, I think gunk slowly sticks and builds up. A good wash will take care of this…and oiling likely does the same thing - just another medium to clean it out.
Eric
For me it would only have a cosmetic effect but I wouldn’t argue with somebody who said they could hear a difference in the tone.
Wiping the bore and outside surfaces of a delrin flute with a small amount of grease and then wiping off all the excess helps to keep a nice dark appearance on the material – especially if it has just been washed . If the outside is wiped “dry” it won’t become more slippery.
Garry
Like many I treat my delrin flute like a whistle (leave it assembled for easy access and give it the odd shake out). I was surprised at the notion of oiling a delrin flute, but maybe it’s not as far fetched as I initially thought! I didn’t know Dessi Seery recommended oiling his flutes, but that makes sense as my teacher plays one of his flutes (as a lot of people round here do).