Natural/Synthetic Valve oils

[jgadvert]

Well..my sample of Fat Cat is on the way. I always assumed that Blue Juice was synthetic all the way. After looking at there site info..maybe I was wrong. I mean..it has worked pretty good for me. Both BJ and Binka have interesting developmental stories.

[jgadvert]

Ok. Tried Fat Cat. The folks there have been helpful and promptly sent me a nice little sample bottle. To my eye, it seems a tad thicker than most I've seen. Initially, the valves worked very smooth..as smooth as any I've used. On a gig, I still had to re-apply after a set. I think it's just that any little speck of anything on precision valves can cause sticking and seems impossible to avoid sometimes. Overall..I will stick with this brand for now. At least it is a high quality natural oil..which was my goal.

I wonder if over time I will experience any buildup in the valves from using natural? Never the case with Blue Juice. (except for that gross puddle of blue milky stuff always at the cap bottom). Read an article that detergents can actually cause lubricants to move away from valves...still worked pretty good though. Perhaps I might go back to BJ in the near future and see how it goes...or try a few other new brands. Hey! It's oil safari time!

[Irving]

Al Cass for new horns, and unscented lamp oil for older horns. The lamp oil, at about $2 a quart, works great on all of my horns. You can use old Al Cass bottles by pulling out the nipple with a pair of needle-nosed pliers.