Can I Use Valve Oil On A French Horn?

Can I use valve oil on a French horn?

You can absolutely use valve oil on your French horn

, and you should be doing so relatively often as well. This is the general kind of oil that you should be lubricating your instrument with to reduce friction and make sure the valves open and operate freely during use.

What oil do you use on a French horn?

Can I use valve oil on rotary valves?

How often should I oil my French horn valve?

Depending on vehicle age, type of oil and driving conditions, oil change intervals will vary. It used to be normal to change the oil every 3,000 miles, but with modern lubricants most engines today have recommended oil change intervals of

5,000 to 7,500 miles

.

Do you have to oil a French horn?

Use plenty of oil — you can’t “over-oil” a valve. Finally, place a drop oil on the bottom side of the valve near the string — right in the crack between the rotor stop arm and the main body of the valve.

DO NOT use ANY OIL unless it is designed especially for valve instruments

.

What can I use if I don’t have valve oil?

Baby oil can act as a substitute for another lubricant after you remove stuck valves

. That way, you can keep the valves from sticking again. As with other alternatives, start with a small amount of baby oil and add more if you need to. Baby oil primarily uses mineral oil, which is very similar to standard valve oil.

Can you use valve oil on rotors?

Use Ultra-Pure Professional Valve Oil or Ultra-Light Valve Oil to oil the rotors down the slide tubes for each valve

. Press the valve levers several times to work in the fresh oil. Take out the slides one at a time and drip a few drops of valve or rotor oil down the slide tubes to reach the rotor surface.

Are valve oil and rotor oil the same?

Types of Oil

I use

valve oil, which is a thinner oil, instead of a heavier rotor oil

. Older horn valves can be ‘clankier’ and would benefit from a heavier rotor oil on the top and back, but be sure to use valve oil inside. Remember, valve oil actually protects the inside of the rotor from corrosion caused by saliva.

How do you fix a sticky French horn valve?

Where do you put the oil on a French horn rotor?

Can I use blue juice on French horn?

Once the horn is dry and free of soapy residue,

put some Blue Juice (10 drops or so) down each slide leg directly onto the rotor valve

. We can do it this way since there should be no grease on the inner slide legs (yet!). This will get some good lubrication on each rotor.

How do you grease a French horn?

How do you clean a French horn valve?

Can you use Vaseline as valve oil?

Vaseline should never be used because it is corrosive to brass

. Moving and greasing all slides and bottom caps once a month will help prevent slides and caps from sticking. Valve casings and tuning slide receivers can be cleaned more thoroughly by using a trumpet cleaning rod.

Does water work as valve oil?

Is water an okay substitute for valve oil until school starts or will it mess up my already not-so good trumpet?

Water won’t hurt your trumpet, but it is nowhere near as good as actual oil

. One time a trumpet player in our band needed valve oil and no one had it with them.

Can you use olive oil on trumpet valves?

Using WD-40, mineral oil, olive oil, or other oils found in your home are

not recommended for oiling trumpet valves

. Although it may be tempting to use these since they are typically easily accessible, it is wise to wait until you can buy proper valve oil. These home-remedies can severely damage a brass instrument.

What is rotor oil used for?

Rotor oil is used for

lubrication between rotor surfaces and their casings

. Because these components are relatively large and their clearances are small in relation to their size, a light oil is used. Rotor spindle oil is for the rotor spindles.

Can you use valve oil as lube?

Using valve oil is the best way to lubricate your valves

. Silicone or oil lubricants ultimately cause damage to your horn. Because valve oil is a water-based oil, it won’t harm your trumpet. It’s not a great idea to use alternative oils to lubricate your valves.

What kind of oil is valve oil?

Valve oil is a lubricant for valves of brass instruments. It is typically mostly

mineral oil with a small amount of other ingredients, although synthetic oils are increasingly available

.

What is the difference between valve oil and slide oil?

The difference is in the

viscosity or thickness

. Key or valve oils are thin or light. Slide oil for trombone slides is thicker. Oil for tuning slides (on trumpets, trombones and other brass instruments) is very thick.

Why are my French horn valve stuck?

As a musical and mechanical necessity, rotor valves have a very tight clearance between the rotor and valve casing and at the bearings. Because of this,

any deposits on any part may cause the valve to lock in place or freeze up

. This is most likely to be experienced after the instrument has been unused for some time.

How do you fix a slow horn valve?

How much does it cost to Replate a French horn?

How do you oil a rotary valve?

We would recommend oiling about once per month to keep the rotary valves in good condition. Unscrew the back-plate of each rotor and put one drop of thicker oil on the central bearing. Screw the plate back on not too tight. Then put drop on the front axle of each rotor and on each moving joint in the linkages.

How do you grease a French horn slide?

Can I use valve oil instead of slide grease?

So, if you don’t have any slide grease and you need your slides to be really loose, then

valve oil *might* work in a pinch

–although you may need to re-apply frequently throughout a performance. What is this? But in short, you want to use valve grease over valve oil because it protects, seals, and lasts longer.

What is valve oil made of?

Traditional valve oils have molecules of different sizes that evaporate at different rates. Regular valve oils are traditionally made from

a blend of standard mineral oils such as kerosene or paraffin oil

.

How do you use valve oil?

How do you give your French horn a bath?

How many valves does a French horn have?

Modern French horns have

three valves

which lower the pitch a semitone, a tone, and three semitones (minor third). The valves of a horn are typically rotary valves.

Can French horn strings get wet?

Any felts on valves should be removed so they don’t get wet

. Place instrument in water and flush interior with water and soap. Use a snake brush to clean tubes of tuning slides and bore of instrument.

Can you use Windex on a brass instrument?

How often should you clean a French horn?

How often do I have to clean my French horn? Wipe it down every week. Rinse/snake out the slides every month, and bathe it about every 2-3 months. Get it professionally cleaned

once a year

.

How do you make homemade valve oil?

Can you use WD-40 on brass instruments?

We like to use WD-40.

It is not only very easy to use, but is also quick and very effective

. All you need to do is coat the gold and brass lamp with a layer of WD-40, which is a great to clean brass and let it sit for about 15-30 minutes. Take a clean cloth and rub the lamp in circular motions drying and buffing it up.

Can you use slide oil on trumpet valves?

After cleaning, oil the valves very well.

Use slide grease on all slides

(if your trumpets third valve slide is not slick enough, apply a drop of valve oil, this should loosen the slide enough to operate with one finger.)