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I own two piston-valved instruments.
One was about 3 years old when bought a long time ago.
From day one I gave it some blue juice every few weeks and never have to worry.

The other one is brand new and has been consuming valve oil as if it were draft beer, beginning on day 1.
When I return to it after maybe 3 days off, I´ll have to pry loose stuck valves and re-lube them.
Once they got unstuck and oiled, they work perfectly fine.

Can anybody offer explanations about reasons / ways to solve this?
Chem cleaning necessary?

You can get thirty different freak jury guesses here (twelve of which will tell you to use some particular $5/oz. oil), or you can take it to someone who can diagnose and eliminate your problems.

Tubeast wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2024 7:57 am I own two piston-valved instruments.
One was about 3 years old when bought a long time ago.
From day one I gave it some blue juice every few weeks and never have to worry.

The other one is brand new and has been consuming valve oil as if it were draft beer, beginning on day 1.
When I return to it after maybe 3 days off, I´ll have to pry loose stuck valves and re-lube them.
Once they got unstuck and oiled, they work perfectly fine.

Can anybody offer explanations about reasons / ways to solve this?
Chem cleaning necessary?

Lubrication helps valves float over crap and might even soften deposits of ‘lime’. Take the valves apart; clean the valves, the bores and the keyways. Look for burrs and get ride of every bit of muck. Clean everything, oil, use; repeat as necessary.

I’m not a fan of blue juice and suggest traditional alternatives are a much better bet. Yamaha make a range of oils and I happen to use one of them, but equally good alternatives are available.

Have I had sticky piston valves? Yes I have.
Have I still got sticky piston valves? No I have not, the reason is above.