Too much oil??

When people complain about having sticky valves, I always hear from at least one person that "maybe you used too much oil". Is that really possible? Myth or Fact? My favorite repairman informed me to oil my rotors every day for best action, and he never mentioned the possibility of too much.

The answer is both: Yes & No. Typically one can't use too much internal oil (rotor oil) - though if you did use an excessive amount you would have to deal with it trickling out the bell onto your leg. That being said - one can use too much Linkage or Bearing oil. Through capillary action the thicker oil can eventually work it's way onto the face of the valve - and, due to it's higher viscosity, can cause the valve to move quite slowly.
(This can be remedied by simply flushing the valves with Rotor oil on all surfaces until they move at their desired speed.

None of these situations, though, would case the valve to 'stick'. Typically sticking is a byproduct of a building up of Copper Carbonate (aka: green crud) - or, it's caused by the valve oil flushing unwanted 'stuff' onto the face of the valve.

So - in short - OIL profusely with Valve/Rotor oil, and intermittently with Bearing/Linkage oils - and keep your horn clean!