Being somewhat anal, and owning a rather expensive flute, I like to keep appearances up by maintaining the lustre of the sterling keys. Using a Q-tip, I have no problem with the obvious surfaces, (being careful to stay away from the pad material of course) but the wee bit where the keys pivot in the block poses a problem. Not wanting to gum up the joint 'twixt the wood of the block and the key itself, I’m reluctant to use the liquid silver polish. I’ve tried rubbing this narrow section with a broken tooth pick covered by a piece of tissue, but that doesn’t really get rid of the tarnish. I realize that removing the keys from the flute would make the job very easy, but I’m reluctant to do that as well. Any suggestions?
You should remove the keys- carefully, of course. It will be a liberating experience! Don’t mix up the pins and put them back in the right direction. It can be tricky enough but it’s part of basic maintenance.
I use a silver polishing cloth and no goo or other cleaning agent. Just the cloth does a great job. Use it make the rings shine too.
I’ll second cocusflute here - whip 'em off and give 'em a good rub with a Goddard’s Silver Cloth or equivalent. Do the pins while you have them out too. If you are worried about mixing them up, just do them one at a time, but if you take them all off it’s a good chance to oil the flute without having to fret about getting it on the pads, and you can oil the actual tone holes as well (use a feather or a pipe-cleaner). I do this with my R&R about two or three times a year (which is all the oiling it gets). If the keys tarnish in the meantime, (Eb key especially prone due to frequent contact with sweaty little finger!) I just give 'em a rub in situ as you have been doing. I’ve had my 164 year old R&R nearly 25 years and I haven’t eroded the keys away yet!
If you have a flute with German Silver keys, they too will benefit from a polish. If they are very tarnished/patinated, don’t be afraid to use Brasso or equivalent, (off instrument and preferably with the pads removed, so maybe best done when re-padding) or “Metal Wadding” - they will come up to look like gold! Unfortunately this doesn’t last, and they will go dull and pewtery again in a few weeks-months, but occasional buffing with a silver cloth as previously mentioned will retard this tendency. I see no virtue whatever in attaching some spurious value to a “patina of age”: if they are dull and pewtery, or covered in verdigris, they NEED a good clean! They were nice and shiny when new, and I rather suspect the original owners probably kept them so.
Rub-a-dub-dub!
Jem.