As some of you know I play Boehm flute… pretend to play irish and classical. Not very good but I’ve only been playing for… wow it’s been two years already.
Well it’s been in the shop this past week or two (out of state) for repadding and a general tuneup.
As some of you also may know, I never polish my flute. Maybe this is bad of me, but I don’t.
Well my aunt brought it back to Chicago today, and it seems like the people at the shop polished it.
IT IS SO SHINY.
Okay I have to admit I have really, really, sensitive eyes, but… I opened it up and it almost blinded me it was so shiny. And it wasn’t even THAT shiny as shiny flutes go.
If you want to keep the shine, after playing, always first dry the bore with the cleaning rod and a clean, soft cloth, then use another clean, soft cloth to carefully wipe the fingerprints off of the flute.
When doing this with the key mechanism, be careful to be very gentle and avoid using a side-to-side motion, as this can cause premature wear of the mechanism.
On whatever kind of flute you may play (wooden or silver, Irish or orchestral), do be careful to keep polishes and polishing clothes well away from the pads and the mechanism.
The felt-and-fishskin pads on a Boehm-system flute in particular are very fragile and easily damaged by even a light pass with a polishing cloth.
Any polish that finds its way into the mechanism (and yes, block-mounted keys still count as a “mechanism”) can cause premature wear and can also cause the key to bind.
