Cleaning and care of brass instruments
The session guides for beginners
In this guides you will find all the important information you need about cleaning and caring for your brass or metalwind instrument . We will accompany you step by step through the individual steps and give you useful tips. If you have any questions about this theme beyond the guides , we will of course be happy to help you in person, by phone or by email at any time. You can find the contact details for the wind instrument department in the last paragraph at the bottom of the page.



1. Water bath
Disassemble the instrument and place everything except the valves in a lukewarm water bath to soak any residue. Caution: Water that is too hot can damage the paint. After about 20 minutes, remove the instrument and all its individual parts from the water bath.


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2. Interior cleaning
Apply cleaning agent to the sponge of the appropriate brush from the cleaning set and use it to wipe the slides, the leadpipe and the valve bushing. Then rinse all parts again with water and rub the outside dry with a soft towel. Leave everything there for a while so that it can dry from the inside.
Practical care sets and cleaning products for brass instruments
With these practical care sets and cleaning products from our specialist departments, your brass instrument will clean itself almost entirely by itself. If you don't find what you're looking for, you'll find useful cleaning aids for brass instruments and nourishing fats and oils for your brass instrument.

3. Valve cleaning
Clean the valves under running water with the appropriate brush to remove old oil and deposits. Important: No water should get on the felts and feathers. Then dry the valves with an absorbent cloth (e.g. kitchen paper).
4. Oil valves and mechanics
For new Perinet instruments we recommend JM Valve Oil 1 Synthetic Light Piston . For all other instruments with perinet valves JM Valve Oil 2 Synthetic Medium Piston & Rotor and JM Valve Oil 3 Synthetic Heavy Piston & Rotor . We recommend JM Bearing Oil 13 Synthetic for the bearings of new rotary valve instruments and JM Bearing & Linkage Oil 13.5 Synthetic for all other instruments.

For oiling the springs and joints we recommend JM Slide Oil 5 Synthetic . For the running surface of new rotary valve instruments, we recommend JM Rotor Oil 11 Synthetic . Attention: Oiling the running surface should best be carried out by professionals, as incorrect application can have a negative effect on the running properties of the valves .
Oil perinet valves well. For rotary valves, oil the springs and joints, the lower bearing between the wing and the bushing, and the upper bearing.
Valve and mechanics oils for your brass instruments
Here we present our recommendations from the specialist departments in Walldorf and Frankfurt at a glance. If you have any further questions about the application , please do not hesitate to call us. We are pleased to help you.
5. Grease slides
Grease the first and third trains. slides greases are available in different consistencies, which should be chosen depending on the age of the instrument - please ask our experts about the right grease for your instrument.
In most cases , JM Slide Oil 5 Synthetic is very suitable for the first and third moves. For the second and main tuning slides, use a thicker lubricant like La Tromba cork grease .
special features of the trombone slide
Clean the inside cables with kitchen paper to remove the old oil. Apply draw grease to the boots (at the bottom of the turn). To further improve the running properties of the train, simply apply a fine film of water with a water spray bottle and distribute it with the outer cable.
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6. Treat finish
Care products for surface treatment
We also have a few styling products in our program for the external appearance of your brass instruments. With these care products you can remove ugly fingerprints from the finish and get your instrument sparkling clean again after cleaning!
Other applications
More demanding cleaning and care applications for brass instruments, such as oiling the running surfaces of rotary valves or lapping valves, should be carried out by professionals. We offer this service in our wind instrument workshop in Walldorf . We will also be happy to accept your instrument in our specialist department in Frankfurt . If you are unsure, it's best to just ring the bell in the specialist department.