Playing Condition -P/C- Make sure all slides move, make sure all valves work, make sure water-keys seal properly. Sometimes playing condition repairs on brass instruments involves removing some dents. Such repairs also include re-soldering broken joints and replacing broken parts. Sometimes people refer to this as getting their instrument "overhauled" but that isn't the proper use of that term. Playing condition repairs, just as with woodwinds, are the minimum repairs necessary to ensure that the brass instrument plays properly and can be tuned.

Overhaul- On a brass instrument, this requires the instrument to be shipped out to a facility which can strip the current finish (lacquer or silver plate), remove all dents, buff (polish) the entire instrument to a high shine, and then apply a new finish (either lacquer or silver plate).

All mechanical parts are guaranteed to function properly either by being repaired or by being replaced. The instrument is returned looking and working like a brand new instrument. This is very expensive and requires the instrument to be gone for a long time. No small repair shops have lacquering or plating facilities these days, so the work is sent out to one of several large overhaul factories which can do the work much more efficiently.