I seem to have an issue with corrosion in my Shires Q36YR. I bought this horn in August and it was listed as a Demo horn. It seems that the slightest touch of corosion on these valves cause them to randomly lock up. I oil them regulary and have taken them apart several times. Each time I have cleaned out slight corrosion and it gets better for a little while. I have recently taken everything apart and given the bell section a bath. I guess we'll see how long that buys me. At this point, I'm thinking about trading/selling it for something else. What do you guys think? Am I missing something?

Side note: I followed the same procedure that I did with the Shires on my Bach 42G, which I hadn't cleaned much (and worked great when I took it apart) and it works great afterwords.

Sounds like they weren't properly finished. A good tech can fit and lap them.

This is a familiar story. There is a thing as valves that are just too tight.

[quote="hyperbolica"]This is a familiar story. There is a thing as valves that are just too tight.[/quote] Yep, and it can happen with any maker. A visit to a tech should be able to solve the problem permanently.

I had the same problem with the Q36 axials, any gunk build up and i’d have to clean it, normally 2 a week just to keep them moving. I thought it was an axial problem, switched over to rotors, now back to instrument innovation axials and i find myself cleaning my valves once every two weeks. Definitely get it worked on.