Posted by Chuck(G) on May 22, 2002 at 10:35:31:
In Reply to: Taking out a nick on the valve slide posted by James Rees on May 22, 2002 at 09:03:37:
I'm assuming by "nick" you mean that the slide is dented. It happens and is pretty easy for a tech to take care of.
Before you whittle your slides down, try cleaning the tubes with a mildy agressive polish like Mr. Metal, thorougly rinse and snake them out so that there's no grit remaining (take your valves out when you do this so you don't flush the grit into them). Then lubricate using a good slide lube (I use a witches brew of STP and anhydrous lanolin). That may be all it takes.
OTOH, if they're still sticky, you may want the slides checked for misalignment--again, a job for a pro.
In any case, the work shouldn't be expensive at all.