Valve Oil, Part I

Valve oil.  That stuff in the little bottles that brass players are always dribbling into their horns.  It’s all pretty much the same, isn’t it? 

No way, buddy!  Many – maybe even most - brands of valve oil are nothing more than cheap petroleum distillate and a marketing campaign.  Which is shameful, because valve oil is super important for your brass instrument.  It’s what keeps your valves going up and down without hanging up through long rehearsals and performances. It protects the metal surfaces from wearing on each other. And, it helps keep valves clean by preventing oil and dirt from clinging to the metal.   

So many choices… 

Let’s take a look at the valve oils you can find on the market today.  There are roughly four types: 

1. The cheap smelly petroleum distillates mentioned above.  They do a barely adequate job of lubricating your valves.  Many house brands fall into this category.  In most cases if the music store's name is on the valve oil bottle don't buy it.   
2. The second type of valve oil is a more highly refined petroleum distillate which has withstood the test of time because it works fairly well.  Many of the best-known valve oil brands fall into this category. 
3. The third type is oils specifically chemically engineered by knowledgeable professionals to be valve oil.  Blue Juice is an example. 
4. The fourth category is synthetic oils, such as Alisyn and Space Filler. 

Why do we need different kinds of valve oil? 

        Instrument manufacturers use different alloys in their pistons.  The various valve oils react differently with the various piston alloys, so what works well on one brand of instrument might not work well on some others. 

        Brand-new valves have different lubrication requirements from old worn-out valves.  Even instruments of identical brand and model might do best with different valve oils simply because of wear on the valves.  For instance Alisyn is very thick and works quite well on old worn-out sloppy valves.  But it’s far too viscous for many new, tightly fit valves. 

Try this at home 

Here’s an interesting experiment for a rainy day:  Clean your valves thoroughly, and oil each of the three pistons with a different brand of oil.  Most likely, you’ll be able to tell the difference in the feel of each of the three valves.   

The bottom line?  If you’re using cheap valve oil, pitch it.  A bottle of good oil costs five bucks or less, so you might as well use it.  Clean your valves, (it’s best not to mix oils) and experiment to find out what works best on your instrument.   

Also, most students need to use more of the stuff!  Frequently when customers complain that valves don't work the problem turns out to be simply a lack of adequate oil.  Beginning students should use up close to an entire bottle by the end of the school year. 

 Valve oil, Part II: Rotary Valves