Trombone Valve Oil for Slides

Toolll · New Member Joined: 01 Aug 2011 Posts: 2

A man working on a music shop said that a product entitled as Trombon Valve Oil can be used for the trumpet slides since both are brass instrument slides and would be able to be maintaned the same way. Is this true? Can I use this on my trumpet's slides? If not, does anyone know if it'll cause any harm to it? While I know buying the actual trumpet slide oil would be the best idea, I cannot find anywhere around to buy it, so I wanted to know how far in this man is telling the truth. Also, I'd be glad to know any kind of substitute for slide oil if anyone knows one.

LittleRusty · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 6:45 am Post subject:

Why not just use what is designed for the trumpet? Are you finding difficulties using your first and third slides?

Valve oil and slide grease have two different purposes. I do use trumpet valve oil on my third and first slides to make them move easier/faster, but I start by putting on slide grease.

As to whether it will hurt the instrument, I would state the answer is no.

Nuck81 · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 7:46 am Post subject:

I don't even let my kids use trombone slide oil on their trombones.

It's fine when wet, but when it dries up (takes about a weekend, unless you use a spray bottle) it locks up tighter than glue, causing the kids to add more of that garbage, which builds up on the gunk already there. I'm positive it's a scam to get kids to buy more junk.

Just use lanolin and petroleum jelly, for your tuning slides.

Capt.Kirk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 5792

If you want oil for your trumpets slides that is thicker then valve oil use 3in1 oil. You can buy it at Walmart, K-Mart, Meijer's,Kroger's, Hardware stores, etc......It is not harmful to any of the finish's on a trumpet and it last's a long long time. It is thinner then slide grease but thicker then valve oil.

You can also use 100% Lanolin which is available globally at Pharmacy or Apothecaries for women nipples that breast feed. If you want something thinner you can mix Lanolin with Petroleum Jelly aka Vaseline. Bagbalm Ointment works good as does any other Vet or Human salve and hair dressings intended for African American that contains Lanolin and other plant oils just avoid anything high in sulfur content. So globaly you should be able to source something for slide grease even if it is not marketed as such. If you had nothing else you could always use some White Lithium Grease a little goes a long way.

If you live in an area that is not well supplied and has hit or miss logistics and infrastructure you need to learn to think outside the box at times or to stock up so that you can absorb any slack in the supply chain!

The best valve oil to use as a slide oil is Alsyn it is rather thick too thick for many on the valve of their trumpet's but this means it works fantastic on slides. It can easily last a year on a slide if you did not wash the horn. It has a ZERO evaporation rate.
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cheiden · Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:48 am Post subject:

I could be wrong but aren't trombone valves usually rotary type? If that's so, I don't see how trombone valve oil would be different than any other rotary valve oil. I for one am a big fan of using Bach rotor oil on my 1st and 3rd slides. It's pretty fast and lasts a good long time, it's cheap and readily available. Comes in a handy little bottle with a thin metal tube that helps with application. I use this straight out of the bottle and there's no reason to mix it with anything else.
For the other slides I strongly recommend using anhydrous lanolin that you can get from Baby-R-Us.
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