TromboneChat

I have a very young (7 years old) private student who is currently playing on a p-bone, which is perfect for him at this level. He enjoys playing, but is fairly careless - not surprisingly for 7, and drops the slide and sometimes the whole horn on average once each lesson. Also, he has mild autism and a short attention span.
He will be moving out of state in another month or so, and I plan to gift him a brass trombone (the Poor Bundy, rockin' with a "new" inner, for anyone that followed my thread a few months back) since it will be more suitable when he starts lessons in school.
However, that may not be for another 1 1/2 years when he's in 4th grade, so I'm looking for suggestions on what would be best to put on the slide. It may sit in the case for a year; but whether he plays it or not it is unlikely that he will clean or even re-lube it, although of course I will show him how when I give it to him.
I'm leaning toward a synthetic oil, like Hetman's valve oil. I realize that the Yamaha lube is almost as easy to apply as oil, but have the impression that it will not hold up well if neglected. Forget about cream. He could probably handle a spray lube, if there is such a thing. Thoughts?

Timely question. I prepped a couple horns I just wasn't playing for longish-term storage this winter. I will be following this thread.

What I did (don't know if it was right or wrong): I put synthetic grease on the tuning slides. As for the horn and slide, I cleaned them and then wiped and dried them thoroughly and completely. And then put the horn and slide, both bone dry, back in the case and into the closet.

(if the dandy hardshell Yamaha case hadn't had tight-fitting seams, I would have tapped them)

PaulT wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 7:37 pm Timely question. I prepped a couple horns I just wasn't playing for longish-term storage this winter. I will be following this thread.

What I did (don't know if it was right or wrong): I put synthetic grease on the tuning slides. As for the horn and slide, I cleaned them and then wiped and dried them thoroughly and completely. And then put the horn and slide, both bone dry, back in the case and into the closet.

(if the dandy hardshell Yamaha case hadn't had tight-fitting seams, I would have tapped them)

I do the same for my horns. Fresh oil on the rotor valves, too. I like Hetman's synthetics because they seem to last forever on valves without evaporating or gumming up.

IMHO, musical instruments of any kind are not meant to be stored away for any length of time!

There are good thoughts regarding storing dry or keeping lubed, but I prefer keeping them lubed.


Eric

Hard to say in this case - realistically, the instrument's future care prospects are going to be in the hands of the adults at home and school... but it's a really nice thing you're doing!

Dry is fine, and better than many alternatives (!) but longer term you want something on there to prevent oxidation. Like waxing the beds of machine tools, or wiping down hand tools with oil. Cream or anything water-based (Yamaha, SOM) will dry up leaving more-or-less problematic residue, so if it was for my own use, I'd clean and dry it, then chuck in some valve oil and get it nicely distributed. But I'd clean it out before putting the instrument back into service.

If that's not going to happen, then 'bad old-fashioned' slide oil might be the best bet. Good protection, action never great but never terrible. I have an ancient bottle of Besson stuff that occasionally surprises on a really lousy slide. La Tromba P3; Conn-Selmer generic.

If using valve oil on the slide is the storage ticket, there are synthetic valve oils available (Yamaha, Hetland, and others). The synthetic will maintain its quality longer than conventional.

If this is going to a kid, I like the idea of slide oil. Slide oil is much more tolerant of overapplication, which is what kids usually do. Clean the slide, apply slide oil, toss the rest of the bottle into the case, and hand it over.

I would recommend you show the parents how to maaintain the horn or just send them a video on how to do they can teach the kid again

If the OP's horn is going to be stored for a year and a half or so prior to delivery, how should he prepare the horn for this storage period (with regard to bell section, tuning slide, and the slide)?

Is there an emerging consensus on clean, dry bell section, grease for the tuning slide (synthetic?), valve/slide oil for the slide (synthetic?) ?

Any proponents for clean, dry slide?

Chances are whatever you do is not how it will end up being stored. I would be he'll play it some before it gets put away.

There was a thread about this a year or two ago. I will comment the same as I did for that thread....

Moisture is the number destroyer of brass alloys. Low viscosity oils will also dry out over time and could possibly become corrosive. The best way to store a trombone slide long term is ABSOLUTELY DRY. This involves a thorough chemical or ultrasonic cleaning and drying before storage. When I say dry, I mean......swab the inner and outer slides several times and then suck the moisture out with a vacuum for a few minutes.

The moisture also needs to be vacuumed out of the bell section as well. The best way to store a tuning slide is with a very thick tuning slide grease. I prefer a mixture with a high percentage of lanolin or a thick synthetic grease. The best way to store a rotary valve is with a higher viscosity oil. For long-term rotary valve storage I use a higher-viscosity bearing or ball-joint oil.

Pistons are very different than rotary valves. They should be stored absolutely dry, just like a trombone slide.

I have seen instruments stored in large quantities on skids for 10 years and longer using the methods listed here. When they came out of storage, they only needed a quick lubrication and they were ready for action. Since there was zero moisture during the storage time, there was zero calcium or lime build up.

Thanks, Brian, that is helpful and I do remember seeing your recommendations, they make sense although I was already storing my horns that way.
One question - why is it that piston valves should be stored dry?
As the O.P. here, maybe I wasn't clear, but after I give the kid the trombone I have no idea if he will be playing it during the next year or not. (He's moving several states away, and probably won't be in a school band for another 1 1/2 years, when he gets to 4th grade. I don't know what he'll do in the meantime, my hunch is he'll play it but not on a regular basis) It is "just" a used Bundy, but still, the slide is decent enough, clean, and I just want him to have a playable horn when he starts a band program.
I've known the family for 4 years now, having his older sister as a trumpet student, they are nice people and have treated me well.
There's the usual sibling rivalry, but I can see if his sister will be willing to help him out with the maintenance.

One course of action (out of many that will work just as well, if not better)

He has a P-bone now. Consider that horn as fine until he starts school band or reaches a suitable maturity. When this point is reached, have his parents present him with the horn you gifted him with, (perhaps with a note from you in the case pocket).

((Treat it as a milestone/ceremony/coming of musical age))

Give the parents the horn now for safe-keeping until they deem the gifting time to be right.

My opinion: Store brass instruments bone dry. Oil just evaporates and leaves a horrible residue that cements all the working parts shut.

PaulT wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 8:10 pm One course of action (out of many that will work just as well, if not better)

He has a P-bone now. Consider that horn as fine until he starts school band or reaches a suitable maturity. When this point is reached, have his parents present him with the horn you gifted him with, (perhaps with a note from you in the case pocket).

((Treat it as a milestone/ceremony/coming of musical age))

Give the parents the horn now for safe-keeping until they deem the gifting time to be right.

Trombones, especially the slides, should be stored clean and dry. Hetman's grease on the tuning slide is fine (that stuff lasts forever) but the handslide should have nothing on it if you want those new inners to survive long in a closet.

A new sealed bottle of oil in the case, with instructions to both the child and parents on its use. Maybe leave written care instructions in case as well.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a "storage case" where all the bits could be secured separately from all the others? Especially slides. I suppose a coffin case could allow slide separation with a bit of modification.

OP here - thanks for all the suggestions; here is a quick update. I talked with the dad about the horn when the kid was not present, and (as far as I know) doesn't know about the "new" Bundy. The slide is now clean and dry, and the dad now knows how to oil it and wipe it down between applications.
I suggested that they put the horn away until he starts taking lessons again (which may be a other year-and-a-half, when he's in 4th grade) and just play the p-bone until then.