Eeviac

Well, you got it! (if you want it!) I tried out Break-Free on my horn and it works great! I've used it on guns (very very good accurate ones too) and on stuff like my motorcycle chain, and this pal of mine has the rustiest latch on his garage door, and it worked great on that too. And well, the older can showed pictures of stuff it was good for, including an Army tank! Now, how can you beat an Army tank? The answer is you can't. So, I've tried this stuff out on my Pan Am (trumpet named after an airline) and it works great on it too. And it has Teflon. Which is why it works. That's the story. I was noticing sometimes when I'd practice for a while and just blow without using the valves, then use the one in the middle it'd be a little sticky feeling. But not with this stuff.

Anyway, ask and ye shall recieve....

misty.sj

I asked my husband (an engineer) about this because he uses teflon spray all the time. He said the two problems he could see are:

1. Teflon actually bonds with the metal, which could thicken the valve over time.

2. Teflon won't be a very good seal to make the valves airtight. I'm not sure what role valve oil actually plays here, but if it does play a role, he doesn't think Teflon will seal the valves.

3. Sort of a corollary to #1, but apparently "You can never really get rid of Teflon."

Eeviac

Well, it doesn't taste very good either .... tptptptpttptptppt! But, well, it works pretty well for me!

misty.sj

BTW I asked him before your post, after rowuk first mentioned Teflon. :) It sounded like a good idea to me too!

patdublc

Misty has made some good points. Search around on the net for Teflon and DuPont for some info. While it is a great thing to use as a coating for pans, I would never put it on my valves.

Toobz

Um, nope !

Pan American airlines started business three years after
Conn produced the first Pan Am instrument. 1924 for the
music instrument company, and 1927 for the airline.

ozboy

Not to alarm you but I did see an article about the level of teflon in people's systems from cooking.Members of OECD countries were tested and they were all found to have unhealthy levels. There are apparently some health issues with the stuff. I don't know whether that would apply to spray form.
Don't want to freak you out. I am glad you tried it on a Pan Am. I don't think I'll be trying it on my Schilke.

stchasking

Teflon is used for artificial arteries around the heart. In that form it is trade named Gortex. The same stuff your parka is made out of.

I seriously doubt teflon has any effect on the human body.

Most of the crap you hear is from a competitor trying to discredit the competition.

Remember when Martha Stewart dissed aluminum cookware? She was promoting another line of cook ware at the time, with her name on it.

I wouldn't use break free for too long. I have used it and eventually went back to slide grease and Al Cass or synthetic.

Slick 50 might work. It doesn't taste much better.

Pedal C

I think teflon can give off some toxic fumes at very high temperatures...higher than cooking temps. Unless you've got some serious finger velocity, you'll probably be ok! In high school, I used telfon tape over my braces and I'm still around. As for how it might effect valves...time will tell I suppose.

rowuk

I was not thinking about teflon lubricant, I was thinking about a permanent maintenance free coating for valves and casings! If they can "permanently" coat frying pans, valves should be possible too!
The problem is that most brass companies learned how to build brass instruments, not heat shields for the space shuttle!