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Thread: Slide Grease

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    I used to use anhydrous lanolin -- for many years.

    About a year ago I switched to Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease. It's not cheap, but you need VERY little of it. And it lasts virtually forever on the slides.

    Some are concerned about it migrating to valves, and the difficulty of removing it (it's heavily silicone based). But I've had no problem with this. It is very difficult to genuinely remove. So don't put it somewhere you will need to totally remove it from the surface. It's possible to remove it, but in my experience this requires actually soaking the surface in the solvent for some extended period of time (like maybe a week, depending on the solvent). Despite the fact that a lot of the spec sheets list some pretty hideous chemicals as solvents for it, I have managed to dissolve it in kerosene (ultra-purified lamp oil) by soaking over time.

    Personally, I love the stuff. The 5 oz tube I have of it will probably last forever.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  2. Quote Originally Posted by SteveP View Post
    I've never used anything but regular old Vaseline petroleum jelly. Is there a reason that this isn't a good idea?
    Thanks for asking this great question! Before encountering this forum I used Vaseline on my slides as well and it sure seemed to do the trick for non triggered and non actively-pulled slides. White lithium grease was recommended by a Tuba instructor and it was messy for sure and didn't smell all that great. I wanted to throw out one additional slide grease question. All other things being equal, what type of slide grease might best prevent slide inner leg discoloration?
    Bob Tampa FL USA
    Euph -- 1984 B&H Round Stamp Sovereign 967 / 1978 Besson NS 767 / Early 90s Sterling MP: 4AL and GW Carbonaria
    Tuba -- 2014 Wisemann 900 CC / 2013 Mack 410 MP: Blokepiece Symphony American Shank and 33.2 #2 Rim

  3. #13
    Anyone tried the Bach slide grease? I put some on my horn this afternoon (recommendation from a service tech) but don't know what to compare it to. The horn is one I bought about 6 months ago but don't know what the previous owner used.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Quote Originally Posted by tampaworth View Post
    I wanted to throw out one additional slide grease question. All other things being equal, what type of slide grease might best prevent slide inner leg discoloration?
    Just genuinely curious, but I do wonder what "inner leg discoloration" refers to and why anyone would be concerned about it.

    I don't think that either the anhydrous lanolin I used to use, or the Dow High Vacuum Grease I now use, resulted in any discoloration. But I also don't think I would have cared if they did.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  5. Quote Originally Posted by ghmerrill View Post
    Just genuinely curious, but I do wonder what "inner leg discoloration" refers to and why anyone would be concerned about it. I also don't think I would have cared if they did.
    I suppose everyone has a different level of OCD regarding their instruments, especially newer ones. I'm sort of middle of the road. Some take it to the extreme playing with a cloth or leather guards. More an esthetic or protective concern, I've noticed a type of corrosion which occurs on the inner legs of certain slides over time and wondered what lubricant might offer the best anti-corrosive effect.
    Bob Tampa FL USA
    Euph -- 1984 B&H Round Stamp Sovereign 967 / 1978 Besson NS 767 / Early 90s Sterling MP: 4AL and GW Carbonaria
    Tuba -- 2014 Wisemann 900 CC / 2013 Mack 410 MP: Blokepiece Symphony American Shank and 33.2 #2 Rim

  6. #16
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    263
    I know what Mr Tampa means.

    I noticed whenever I used Schilke the slides would get more dark and black lines would appear

    When I used selmar stuff I noticed that the slides seemed to tint red

    Whenever I sent it to the shop, they put some industrial stuff on and the slide turned back to its natural colour

    I use the Hetman gel now and it is colourless. I haven't noticed any discolouration on my slides yet.

  7. #17
    Bag Balm works well. It's a mix of lanolin and petroleum jelly with a little antiseptic mixed in. You generally need to live in or near a rural area to find it because its original use was to put it on cow's teats.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Times have changed. As the urbanites are pushing the farmers out of rural counties, they're also adopting agricultural and farm products as beauty aids: http://www.cvs.com/shop/skin-care/bo...m-skuid-955612.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  9. Quote Originally Posted by John the Theologian View Post
    Bag Balm works well. It's a mix of lanolin and petroleum jelly with a little antiseptic mixed in. You generally need to live in or near a rural area to find it because its original use was to put it on cow's teats.
    Thanks John and Gary for the Bag Balm and Lanolin ideas respectively. I purchased an 8 oz tin of Bag Balm from Amazon for less than 10. which arrived yesterday and it should last quite a while. First impression is nice smooth action and decent enough viscosity for a great seal. Little bit of antibacterial activity can't hurt either!
    Bob Tampa FL USA
    Euph -- 1984 B&H Round Stamp Sovereign 967 / 1978 Besson NS 767 / Early 90s Sterling MP: 4AL and GW Carbonaria
    Tuba -- 2014 Wisemann 900 CC / 2013 Mack 410 MP: Blokepiece Symphony American Shank and 33.2 #2 Rim

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    El Paso, Texas
    Posts
    383
    The Bach slide grease works just fine, it is not super thick but just enough to keep everything in place and allow the slides to move easily, assuming you don't have a tuning trigger.
    Adams E1 SS, Gold Brass Body .6mm DE Euph N103 Jcup, J9 shank
    Meinl Weston 2141 Eb Tuba PT 84

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