Caring for your B.A.C. Trumpet

Caring for your trumpet has never been easier! Here are some tips and tricks to care for your trumpet.

Daily Maintenance

First remove moisture from the slides

Remove each slide carefully while holding down the corresponding piston, as shown in the diagram. A popping sound indicates that you are not removing the slide properly. Extract the moisture from the slide which you have removed. Remove the moisture from the body of the trumpet as well, via the water key.

Lubricating with valve oil

Undo the cap screw in the valve casing and slowly extract the piston upwards halfway, without allowing it to rotate. Now apply two or three drops of piston oil to the piston. Retighten the cap screw and move the piston up and down two or three times to work in the oil.

Removing dirt from the surface of the instrument

Before replacing the instrument in its case, wipe its surface lightly with a polishing cloth to remove dirt.

Darkening of the silver finish

Trumpets finished with silver plating will darken even if polished meticulously every day. If a clean finish is preferred for visual or aesthetic reasons, it would be best to shine the instrument with an abrasive such as silver polish. It is also possible to use a cloth that has been soaked in silver polish, known as a "silver cloth". When using silver polish, polish lightly by applying a small amount to a cloth and spreading thinly over the instrument.

Cleaning the slides

Carefully remove the slides and wrap a polishing gauze around a cleaning rod so that the metallic part of the cleaning rod's tip is not exposed. Now proceed as follows:

1. Remove the dirt from inside the middle and outer slides, use valve oil on a towel to wipe off all slide oils from the metal for extra cleaning.

2. Lubricate the slides that have triggers attached to them (the first and third slides) using tuning slide oil. Work each slide back and forth two or three times to work in the oil.

3. Apply a small amount of slide grease to the slides that do not have triggers attached to them (the main slide and the second slide). Work each slide back and forth two or three times to work in the grease.

   1. 1st and 3rd recommended using lighter slide oil (ex: Hetman 5, Resilience Kick Slide, etc)

   2. Main Tuning Slide & 2nd Slide recommended using standard tuning oil (ex: Hetman 7, etc)

Cleaning the mouthpiece

Make up a solution of brass soap, consisting of 10-15 parts warm water (30°C-40°C) to one part brass soap. Soak a mouthpiece brush in the brass soap solution and clean the mouthpiece by pushing the brush through the throat. Now use clean water to wash off the mouthpiece.

Cleaning the valve casings

1. Wrap a polishing gauze around a cleaning rod so that the metallic part of the cleaning rod's tip is not exposed, and use it to wipe dirt from the inside of the valve casings.

2. Wipe dirt off the pistons using a polishing gauze. Insert the pistons into the valve casings and apply two or three drops of valve oil to the valve casings.

Cleaning the inside of the body of the instrument

Make up a solution of brass soap, consisting of 10-15 parts warm water to one part brass soap.

1. Soak a flexible cleaning brush in the brass soap solution and use it to wash the inside of the tube.

2. After removing the dirt, use clean water to wash off the brass soap. Thoroughly dry the inside of the tube using a gauze and then apply oil or grease. After removing all moisture with gauze, apply oil and grease.

3. every 6-12 months recommended full deep ultrasonic cleaning

Wipe the instrument clean before changing oil types

After cleaning your instrument you should use one type of valve oil until the next time you clean the instrument. When changing valve oil types, washing away or wiping off any old oil from within the piston and the valve casing will allow the most to be made of the new oil’s properties. Depending on the oils, mixing oils together may cause stickiness and prevent the true benefits of the oil from being obtained.
This is also true for products from the same company. For example, Yamaha Valve Oil and Yamaha Valve Oil Light feature the same basic ingredients but differ in the small amounts of additives, etc. used. If possible, we recommend that you wipe off old oil and clean the instrument before using different oil.

We hope that these tips help your instrument live a long and happy life! As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at orders@bacmusic.com or 816-945-9133