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Currently, I make swap-stopper faces in sterling silver, titanium, and zirconium.

I've also made bespoke faces in 18k white and yellow gold, 10k rose gold, platinum on behalf of clients. These precious metals come at quite a high cost, and hence are bespoke items. 

Yes! Though we don't completely understand why. Yet :-)

Changing the face is similar to changing the riser material on the embouchure: it effects resistance, response, timbre, and projection. Each material and finish can feel quite distinct when play.

I've experimented with over 50 different materials, manufacturing techniques (incl. casting, sintering, 3d printing), and in many variations of size, shape, and finish. 18k Golds and Platinum are rewarding to play, but these precious metals come at a high cost (currently £500+ each), and so I have worked hard to achieve similarly attractive results (if not better!) with the Zirconium, Titanium and Silver. 

I've written a short blog entry about my thoughts on materials and the feel of the instrument.

Its likely that you never removed or cleaned your old stopper / cork plug. The swap-stopper needs no special treatment, but there are a few things you might consider:

• When swabbing out the headjoint, some people accidentally insert a metal cleaning rod too aggressively. This should be avoided with all stoppers. When swabbing out the headjoint, the cleaning rod should not make contact with the stopper as you could move or damage it. I'd also advise against using metal cleaning rods. A wooden or plastic rod will reduce the risk of damaging your flute and the stopper.
  
  
• As you play, the inside of your flute gets a little dirty, courtesy of the food and drink you consume. Since the swap-stopper is easily removed, you are able to clean the inside of your headjoint easily.
  
  
• As you swab out your headjoint after playing, you might put dirt onto the stopper face. From time to time you might want to remove the face and rinse very gently in warm soapy water and air-dry it off immediately. The titanium and zirconium faces are highly polished. Rubbing them, even with a soft cloth, may cause scratches - esepcially if the face is dirty as you might drag tiny pieces of grit. A gentle microfibre cloth is included with the kit that can be used to restore the shine gently after washing.
  
  
• The stopper back can be washed in warm soapy water and tried with a paper towel. Just be careful not to damage the o-rings.

The swap-stopper faces are partially protected by a plastic case. The plastic case  is slightly raised, to try and help avoid scratches occurring if you accidentally drop the face. This reduces the risk of scratching, and also of the face damaging the inside of the tube.

However, the polished face of zirconium, titanium or silver obviously cannot be covered as it needs to interact with the air-column in the headjoint to have an affect.

Its not the end of the world if you scratch it. Little scratches are inevitable in daily use, and you might find you can't tell any difference in using it.

One way you might accidentally scratch it, is to insert a metal cleaning rod too aggressively. This should be avoided with all stoppers. When swabbing out the headjoint, the cleaning rod should not make contact with the stopper as you could move or damage it.

If you do scratch it and want to repair it, the easiest remedy is to take it to your local flute repair shop, jeweller or engineer. The silver can be re-polished easily. However, the titanium and zirconium need specialist knowledge and equipment to obtain the mirror-like finish with minimal material removal. In addition, all three faces have to be equalised in dimensions to allow you to swap them easily. They are deliberately not totally flat or even - their is a subtle custom curve.

For a small cost, you can ship the face back to me and I will be happy to re-polish it for you.

Removing an old cork is not always easy. Some installers may have used a little glue when installing the cork, and some corks can be extremely tight.

If you are not confident removing your existing stopper or cork, please see your local repair person. You can damage your headjoint by using too much force or a bad removal technique.

The tool included with the swap-stopper allows you to push out a cork, from the crown end down through to the tenon end. The tool is deliberately made of plastic,. to avoid causing damage. However, it is not suitable for extracting stuck or stubborn corns. Specialist equipment and techniques will be used by your repair person to do that.