Oiling trumpet

ROWUK

Oil floats on water. That makes oiling after playing useless because the bore is covered with condensation. The only oiling that reduces wear is the oiling that prevents two pieces of metal from touching one another.
petroleum based oils evaporate mostly within 24 hours making a daily oiling sensible
synthetic oils do not evaporate like petroleum based ones, so we really do not need to oil daily. That being said: if we do not brush our teeth really well before playing, the aerosols in our breath will collect and turn the oil to sludge over time. Just adding oil on top of that just makes the sludge thinner.

For valves, I swab the casing every other day and wipe down the valves then when everything is bone dry, reoil. The oil is attached to all moving surfaces and protection is best.

Depending on the make, age and provenance of the horn, a valve job can transform the instrument to even better than new.

Dr GO

@Kehaulani-0 said in Oiling trumpet:

If the valves stick, wash them, remove all of the previous oil, and reoil with a different oil.

There's not that much difference, practically speaking, in oils as some may want you to believe.

Despite my above post on viscosity and longevity, I actually do agree with these comments. The comparison I made (from other's research) is just that. Other than longevity of the oil, there is no subjective ratings as to which one works best.

And when out on a gig and realizing I forgot to pack the oil, my experience is I can barrow a spritz from one of the other trumpet players and the valves perform just fine. Any Port in Storm.

Dr GO

So Robert Love from Brasswinds Research plays in a big band with me and he forgot to pack his trumpets one day last week. He asked to borrow my flugelhorn (the Kanstul) (I had as my extra horn in my Trumpet double case). I loaned to him to play and he quickly noted the resistance (he called it a wonky) first valve. I told him it has been less responsive than the other valves since I purchased it. He gave me a clear red fluid in a bottle and asked me to give it a try to see if it helped improve the valve's response. I used this fluid and it took about 2 songs of playing and it was beginning to respond more freely. Then the next day, completely fluid like the other valves. What was that magic red fluid? A mixture of valve oil and transmission fluid. Yes, transmission fluid. Not only does my flugelhorn valves now perform flawlessly, but the horn it now goes into reverse!

Shifty

@Dr-GO
I had a co-worker who went through college on a band scholarship. He said their entire trumpet section used STP as a slide lubricant.

Dale Proctor

@Shifty said in Oiling trumpet:

@Dr-GO
I had a co-worker who went through college on a band scholarship. He said their entire trumpet section used STP as a slide lubricant.

I can’t imagine that working unless they thinned it out with some other oil. STP is as thick and stringy as honey.

Shifty

@Dale-Proctor
I'd guess it would be ok on the main tuning slide -- about like Hetman #7, but more colorful.

Perhaps a mix with valve oil for #1 and #3 slides.

Dr GO

@Dale-Proctor said in Oiling trumpet:

@Shifty said in Oiling trumpet:

@Dr-GO
I had a co-worker who went through college on a band scholarship. He said their entire trumpet section used STP as a slide lubricant.

I can’t imagine that working unless they thinned it out with some other oil. STP is as thick and stringy as honey.

It did work well. The drop of red colored solution was thinner than my UltraPure oil.