Blue Juice

[bone-a-phone]

Being newish to valves, I naturally had questions. As in other areas of my life, I learn best by making mistakes. Trombone players just tend to borrow whatever the trumpet player next to them has to throw in a rotary valve every 6 months or so when it comes due, so I never really paid much attention to valve oil.

I bought a bass trombone with those fancy new valves with tight clearances. But I also have this magic spit that prevents me from getting cavities, but also clogs valves, then calcifies and swells when in contact with valve oil. I had to have my fancy new tight valves lapped because putting oil on them just made them stick. I generally run without oil after that.

So I got a euphonium, and naturally the 1st valve starts to stick. Magic spit sticks to valves and then absorbs valve oil, and voila. All euphonium and tuba (and probably trumpet and horn) players know that when your lead pipe goes right into a set of valves, the first valve after the pipe gets all the fresh spit, and so it naturally sticks the most. "Oh, that's why they put that loop in the leadpipe sometimes".

Now that I was using too much valve oil to just borrow it from random valve players, I had to figure out what to get. Al Cass came with the horns I bought, so I used that. But it didn't ever seem to actually fix lubrication problems. Not sure what it did, really. Eventually even that ran out. So of course I turn to the forums and boards on the internet to figure out what to get. Some euph players it seems are bonkers for Blue Juice. They say it even cleans your valves as you play! What a miracle. An antidote for magic spit. So I make an order from Hickeys, and buy a trombone quartet as part of the order. "Discounts for quantities of more than 10". Hmm. How much Blue Juice could I possibly use? It's a lot less expensive than some of the other stuff. I'm used to a jar of Super Slick that you inherit from the guy you bought your used horn from, and it lasts 10-15 years or so. Valve Oil isn't like that, they tell me.

Anyway, I bought 2. In case I didn't like it. I'll get that discount next time.

Glad I didn't get the whole case. Blue Juice smells to high heaven. "Pleasing Odor" it says on the site. Pleasing to whom? Those guys who partied it up in Chernobyl for a couple weeks and left it trashed? A drop of it splashed out the back end of a valve onto my shirt, and it still stinks the next day (yes, I have a shirt rotation, but don't ask). Jeezis this stuff stinks. I don't even care what it does to my valves, it smells so bad, I don't wanna get near the instrument.

So I guess it's lamp oil for me. I'm not gonna go a whole gallon, maybe I can get it by the quart. It took me a couple of years to use 4 Al Cass bottles. Just wondering, does it smell like whales?

[Doc]

Being newish to valves, I naturally had questions. As in other areas of my life, I learn best by making mistakes. Trombone players just tend to borrow whatever the trumpet player next to them has to throw in a rotary valve every 6 months or so when it comes due, so I never really paid much attention to valve oil.

I bought a bass trombone with those fancy new valves with tight clearances. But I also have this magic spit that prevents me from getting cavities, but also clogs valves, then calcifies and swells when in contact with valve oil. I had to have my fancy new tight valves lapped because putting oil on them just made them stick. I generally run without oil after that.

So I got a euphonium, and naturally the 1st valve starts to stick. Magic spit sticks to valves and then absorbs valve oil, and voila. All euphonium and tuba (and probably trumpet and horn) players know that when your lead pipe goes right into a set of valves, the first valve after the pipe gets all the fresh spit, and so it naturally sticks the most. "Oh, that's why they put that loop in the leadpipe sometimes".

Now that I was using too much valve oil to just borrow it from random valve players, I had to figure out what to get. Al Cass came with the horns I bought, so I used that. But it didn't ever seem to actually fix lubrication problems. Not sure what it did, really. Eventually even that ran out. So of course I turn to the forums and boards on the internet to figure out what to get. Some euph players it seems are bonkers for Blue Juice. They say it even cleans your valves as you play! What a miracle. An antidote for magic spit. So I make an order from Hickeys, and buy a trombone quartet as part of the order. "Discounts for quantities of more than 10". Hmm. How much Blue Juice could I possibly use? It's a lot less expensive than some of the other stuff. I'm used to a jar of Super Slick that you inherit from the guy you bought your used horn from, and it lasts 10-15 years or so. Valve Oil isn't like that, they tell me.

Anyway, I bought 2. In case I didn't like it. I'll get that discount next time.

Glad I didn't get the whole case. Blue Juice smells to high heaven. "Pleasing Odor" it says on the site. Pleasing to whom? Those guys who partied it up in Chernobyl for a couple weeks and left it trashed? A drop of it splashed out the back end of a valve onto my shirt, and it still stinks the next day (yes, I have a shirt rotation, but don't ask). Jeezis this stuff stinks. I don't even care what it does to my valves, it smells so bad, I don't wanna get near the instrument.

So I guess it's lamp oil for me. I'm not gonna go a whole gallon, maybe I can get it by the quart. It took me a couple of years to use 4 Al Cass bottles. Just wondering, does it smell like whales?

I'm not a fan of Blue Juice, but some people are. You can form your own opinion about its odor and effectiveness.

Ultra pure lamp oil doesn't have an odor. Can you even buy whale oil these days? Anyway, it's cheap and easy to use. Use it before AND AFTER you play. Your stickiness should reduce from that alone.

[Three Valves]

Nice rant!!

But it's Blue Juice or No Juice for me!!

[bloke]

It is my believe that most mis-accuse valve oils of "gumming up", when it is either dragging schmutz into valve casings from adjacent casing knuckles OR it is migrating into slides and forming a median viscosity solution when valve oil and slide grease become one.

The ultimate solutions are to make sure those DIFFICULT TO REACH adjacent casing knuckles are clean, and to have one's slides aligned so nicely that VALVE OIL is all that's needed on slides (rather than any sort of grease).

A couple of other factors include
- brand new un-oxidized casings which are in the process of patinating (tarnishing, as currently-forming tarnish must be heavily oiled and scuffed smooth via regular valve action)
- lime deposits (which need to be dissolved away, in a mild acid bath).

I use lamp oil, and oil generously each time I play an instrument. The cost is negligible. A gallon costs less than a case of (often: even generic/store-brand) tiny bottles of so-called "valve oil".

Blue Juice - it seems apparent to me - is a scent-and-color knockoff of the 1960's - 1970's Leblanc valve oil. It triggers memories of beginner and junior high band.

bloke "Surely, people grow wearing of me posting this stuff over-and-over."
-

[Three Valves]

Blue Juice - it seems apparent to me - is a scent-and-color knockoff of the 1960's - 1970's Leblanc valve oil. It triggers memories of beginner and junior high band.

Not so much as diesel bus exhaust for me!!

Nothing says "70s" like bus fumes, inflation, unemployment and 10%+ interest rates.

[ParLawGod]

It triggers memories of beginner and junior high band.

That's WD-40 for me. Little ole me thought it was a good idea to use the stuff on my trumpet valves...WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[bloke]

Blue Juice - it seems apparent to me - is a scent-and-color knockoff of the 1960's - 1970's Leblanc valve oil. It triggers memories of beginner and junior high band.

Not so much as diesel bus exhaust for me!!

Nothing says "70s" like bus fumes, inflation, unemployment and 10%+ interest rates.

and 36K sousaphones...and the kid who sat next to you in some contrived/short-lived junior high thing called the "all-city band", whereby they brought a fascinating fiberglass Martin tuba to the rehearsals and concert...and going to Krystal (without adult supervision) for sliders between the morning and afternoon rehearsals.