How to Lubricate a Trumpet

Keeping your trumpet maintained is essential to the life of the instrument and will allow it to last for a very long time. You should clean and lubricate your trumpet frequently as they are both important steps in proper maintenance. Once you know how to correctly lubricate a trumpet, you will be on your way to becoming the next Louis Armstrong. Follow the suggested steps to properly maintain your trumpet:

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Valve oil
• Slide grease
• Lint-free cloth

1. Start by disassembling the trumpet and cleaning every piece thoroughly. Take out all of the removable parts and dry them after ensuring that the trumpet is entirely clean. Next, you will need to use the valve oil and slide grease to lubricate the trumpet parts as you replace them. Slide grease is for lubricating the slides and valve oil is for keeping the valves and pistons moving freely and working properly.

2. Replace the slides. All of the slides should be well coated with slide grease by lightly rubbing the grease on the ends with your fingers. If you get too much, there will be excess that will need to be wiped away with a lint free cloth. You should grease the main slide at least once a month to prevent them from becoming stuck and corroded.

3. Oil the valves previous to returning them into their casings. Lubricate the valve by applying a few drops of valve oil to cover the entire surface. Before locking them into place, move them around to get an even distribution of the oil. You should lubricate the valves before each time that you play your trumpet to keep the pistons in good working order.

4. Rub a little bit of grease on the valve threads. This will prevent them from getting frozen and difficult to remove. You should lubricate the bottom cap threads once a month, along with the slides.

5. Lock the valves into place. Make sure that you get them into the correctly numbered casing. When you take them out, it’s important to note the numbers on the valve so that you can reassemble your trumpet in the proper way.

6. Return the mouthpiece after lubricating it. Blow into the trumpet to make sure that you have all of the parts reassembled correctly.

Tips & Warnings

• Take your trumpet to the music store if any of the parts are frozen. You should never ever use any type of tool to remove any of the pieces of your trumpet if they are stuck. It is best to take the trumpet to an expert for professional assistance instead of trying to remove the parts yourself and possibly damaging the trumpet.