I've now checked off the next-to-last dechinafication procedure, which was filing down the valve casings to remove all of the end-play from the rotors (i.e. "click-click-click-click-click-click"...etc. ).
I came back in from the shop, ran my fingers across all five levers over-and-over, and (well, particularly not being a tuba...which amplifies all of that percussive noise) Mrs. bloke - from across the room - could not tell when I was operating the rotors and when I was not.
Joe-
That was one thing my repairman did not do (yet?) since he put a shim-glued in -in each rotor cap ( similar, sort of, to the old Mirafone screw in each rotor cap) to quiet the rotors with the new bumpers in and so far, so good.
He said the filing down the valve casings was the next step and was time consuming ( ie-pricy-$35-40 per rotor) and wanted to see if what he has done will work and save him time and me $$$...
Mark