General care taking of Aluminium whistles

[luukzs]

Hey everybody!

I have some aluminium whistles from syn/goldie/MK(the one I'm making bare) etc.

My problem is this, I read up on caretaking on the chiff&fipp and didn't quite find what I was looking for.
Basic maintenance:

Wash them with hand soap and then rub them down with a Micro Fiber cloth regularly
Aluminum is extremely reactive to bases/salt, be carefull

But what I also constantly read is:
wax the whistle to help protect the metal. Automotive waxes work for me
clear laquer
Mothers May & Aluminium Polish, coat of really good quality car wax
Chrome polish
Etc.

My problem is: I'm a major hippy sometimes. aluminium is not the healthiest to put in your mouth constantly anyway.
And all the products everybody advises on like: Aluminium Polish, Automotive waxes, Chrome polish, clear laquer etc. Are not products I want anywhere on a instrument I put in my mouth for 2 hours per day...

Does anyone know of a product that is actually made for woodwind instruments, without all the chemical crap?
Thanks, and sorry for the rant!

p.s. I take green tea extract regularly for extracting heavier metals from your system. (When the amount of aluminium consumed exceeds the body’s capacity to excrete it, the excess is then deposited in various tissues, including nerves, brain, bone, liver, heart, spleen and muscle) And though still not 100% irrefutably linked to alzheimer, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Peter Duggan]

General care for aluminium whistles? Just play them! Grease the joints if they're tunable, and treat the windways occasionally with something if they clog. No polish, wax, chemicals, lacquer or anything else necessary...

[Feadoggie]

Yeah, just play them. Keep them clean and lubricated and everything should work out.

Other than that, care will vary from maker to maker depending on how the material is finished (anodized, coated or not) , whether there is a mix of brass/aluminum at the joints, o-rings, etc., etc., etc.. So follow the instructions you received from the maker when you bought the whistles from them.

My problem is: I'm a major hippy sometimes. aluminium is not the healthiest to put in your mouth constantly anyway.
And all the products everybody advises on like: Aluminium Polish, Automotive waxes, Chrome polish, clear laquer etc. Are not products I want anywhere on a instrument I put in my mouth for 2 hours per day...

Well then ... you could go all natural ... play wooden whistles. Oh, wait! ... exotic woods can cause allergies. How about plastics? Oh, wait! ... there's that BPA thing and then there's ....

A lot of what we post here sometimes has to do with keeping things bright and sparkling. Many players just let the patina build up along with their street cred (or is that crud?) Some of us do tend to have an effect on aluminum(personal body chemistry), and it on us as well(the blackened fingers, ooh!). So we may have suggested methods of care and feeding that are extreme for the needs of most players. Coating or waxing works in most cases. Here's a thought. When you let the surface of the aluminum oxidize naturally then it should form a hard enough coating that it will not give off much taste or wear at all. Clear anodizing works too, colors too. If you clean the surface of oxidized/anodized aluminum regularly you may very well taste both the cleaner and the aluminum since it is a fresh surface.

Point is, you just play the whistles. You shouldn't be putting the whistle in your mouth anyway. Just kiss the opening of the windway. That's all the contact that's needed. You won't be ingesting any aluminum. If you can taste the aluminum from your whistles then sell them and buy Burke whistles with the delrin tips. I am sensitive to the taste of aluminum (and brass) in some whistles myself. Burkes don't bother me. Neither do the Syns. No taste.

Does anyone know of a product that is actually made for woodwind instruments, without all the chemical crap?

Beeswax is da bomb! Beebomb - heehee. A little goes a long way. Probably too heavy for some uses though. I had a nice chat with a local bee keeper yesterday so that is fresh in my mind. Santa may be leaving some fresh honey for the kids later in the week.

Sorry for the rant.

Feadoggie

[D Mc]

I, too, agree with the above posts; just play it. When I was done polishing my MK, it was spotless. So much so that I could see smudges and finger prints every time I touched it. You will drive yourself crazy if you try and chase after each one of those. A quick wipe down with a soft cloth after playing is all I do and it still looks great.

[luukzs]

Beeswax is da bomb! Beebomb - heehee. A little goes a long way. Probably too heavy for some uses though.

Awesome help, thanks Feadoggie! Had still a lot of beeswax from other projects. Seems to work perfectly if you combine it with a little bit of lipgloss, looks good, smells good, and as an added bonus, the grip is greatly enhanced as well!

Everyone else, thank you as well! good advices

[Duisg]

I've just stumbled across this post. I have a Goldie whistle that I find reacts with my teeth and gums and creates a strange sensation.
I dnt have this problem with Burkes/Kilarneys or plastics. Being a part time hippie, I don't mind playing aluminium , as I play with plastics too, but it is reacting to my body for some reason.