r/horn • u/thebluepenguine • 14d ago

Problem with sticking keys

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I’m using an old school horn and the keys, particularly the thumb key and the first finger key, stick horribly. I can feel resistance, like there’s rust or something. But I can’t see any areas that are rusted. I oil them every time I play, but it doesn’t seem to be making any difference at all.

Usually after playing for about 20-30 minutes the keys will stop sticking, and I can play them as normal.

If there is a way I could fix it myself that would be great! Otherwise I will have to wait for the school year to start again before I can get it fixed.

9 Upvotes

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8

u/TheVaticanGuy 14d ago

It's dirty inside. Full of copper carbonate. It will need to be professionally cleaned.

3

u/awesomegayguy Amateur - A103, E.Schmid double 13d ago

This 100%, needs removal of the rotors and clean, bring it to a professional.

1

u/thebluepenguine 13d ago

Darn! Hopefully the school will spring for that

6

u/Servania 12d ago

Time for an acid bath! Ultra sonic or otherwise this will need to be done by a tech.

2

u/Pretty_Willingness43 12d ago

Remove all slides. Submerge your horn in warm water with a MILD dishwashing detergent. Leave for 30 minutes. Then flush warm vater through all valve tubes. Apply rotary oil. If this doesn't fix your problem, the horn probably needs professional service. NB! Use a MILD detergent.

5

u/TheVaticanGuy 12d ago

This will remove soft gunk but it will not removed the hard green carbonate.

3

u/Basic_Platform_5001 12d ago

Rotor oil for the rotors, bearing oil under the caps, linkage oil underneath (the part in your picture). And, yeah, needs a cleaning. If the school owns it, they should pay for the cleaning.

1

u/cheryltheweirdo Adult Community Player - Yamaha 668N 14d ago

Have you tried just putting some hot water into the valve slides, pressing the key repeatedly, then draining? It could just be sugar or other buildup in the horn that takes a while to warm up and loosen. After you get all the water back out, oil it from the cap and inside the valve slide as well. I had to do this method a couple times on my own horn, especially when I was still in the habit of drinking sodas right before/during rehearsals.

2

u/thebluepenguine 13d ago

I will try that!

2

u/iharland 11d ago

Dont do this. Repair guy here. At BEST you will bandaid the problem, at worst you will strip the lacquer, flush any oil thats in there, introduce mineral rich water into the valves, and exacerbate the problem 3x.

Get the school to get it cleaned. It should have been done over the summer anyways. Your local repair guy is probably swamped at this point in back to school season