Posted by Joseph Felton on December 04, 1998 at 12:38:32:
In Reply to: Re: rotary valves posted by BobF on December 04, 1998 at 07:56:06:
My own take on this is that for regular oiling squirting oil into the tuning slides and onto the back plane to work the oil into the valves is fine. Occasionally, however, gunk is bound to build up in the valves and taking them apart for a proper washing isn't at all a big deal. As long as your are careful with each part I see nothing to be worried about. The only reason for not taking the valves apart each time you oil is that it happens to be a royal pain. If I'm going to the trouble of taking my valves apart I am also going to clean them very thoroughly with dish soap and lots water. My personal lubricant of choice is Musichems Rotory Oil because it has anticorrosion agents in it. Musichem has a very good web page somewhere. I also use Space Filler's Tuning Slide grease on the linkage to get rid of excess noise and keep parts running smoothly. The stuff seems to last forever and doesn't break down or get gummy.
Just my two cents,
joseph :)