Slides

[KevinSop85]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you all know what to put on slides, especially the first and third valve slides on trumpets, to make them very quick in action.

Things I've tried and have worked on other horns, but one horn I have won't take this method.

I give the horn a bath, brasso the slides to get rid of gunk, and then apply a combonation of Slide Creme and Valve Oil.

Are there any preferred brands of oil, I use All Cass Fast. Any other stuff I can put on it?

[ravedodger]

Pretty much anything is faster than Cass, and almost anything, would last much longer.

I use whatever grease happens to be around (trombone grease, GP grease, etc.)and valve oil--except Al Cass.

Al Cass valve oil is like a rich man's WD-40. What does it cost now days? $5 for 1.5-2 ounces? And it only last a couple days.

If you're having a problem with getting a slide to do it's job, you should look to see if there's a dent in it. The smallest dent can pretty much ruin ease of movement. The good news is that dents can be fixed.

Edited December 11, 2005 by ravedodger

[Dave]

I've never had bad experiences with Al Cass; I've experimented with all sorts of natural and synthetic oils and always gone back to "Fast." It's the cheapest, works as well as anything else and is available everywhere; I'm on a bottle I got a year ago and I use it almost every day. The secret is to know how to conserve it. To oil my valves I almost never take the valve all the way out; I unscrew it and pull the valve out until half of the top hole in the valve is exposed, then I squirt a little oil in the hole. I spin the valve around a few times and move it up and down, then I screw it back in place, and the valve is oiled fine, no wasted or spilled oil.

On valves, if it's one you're moving a lot, I think you're on the right track. Put some slide grease on the slide, then a little bit of oil to break it up. You will have to re-grease and -oil your slide more often because of the oil, but it will make the slide move more freely.

[iloveto8va]

I use schilke slide grease, and Zaja oil. clean the slides, put a small amount of grease on(less thena quarter of the slide) rub it all over, then put 2 "lines" of oil on the slide, one on each side. I hope this helps *also, bluestarcontra* it's a bad idea to spin the valves when inserting them, any sort of dirt, or imperfections in the valve casing can seriously damage the valve

Edited December 12, 2005 by iloveto8va

[BMBob]

I love Schilke slide grease. It's the only kind I use on my horn (concert horn).

[Shadow_7]

GT-85

http://www.gt85.co.uk/

I haven't found anything that lets a slide move better than GT-85. At least if your slides have close tollerances. If there's some play in them, then something greasy would probably be better. Greasy plus a coat of oil for that liquid bearing effect.

I use trombonetine on my trombone. I only need to clean and replace it after a month of use. And I'm still using the same tube of trombonetine I bought in the 1980's. But it requires a misty water sprayer to keep it slick. Of course back then I knew a few players who swore by contraceptive cream as a slide lubricant.

As far as valves, I use Al Cass. Sure it's 2x's the price of other oils. But I find it does the best job and lasts the longest for me. But I clean my valves by removing them from the horn and running a clean rag over the valves and a clean rag through the valve casings. Then I oil the valves with copious amounts of oil. And spin them too. NOTE, cleaning takes place indoors, over a carpeted surface. Disassembled valves are placed on a rag on a sturdy sufface so they don't roll. The cat is locked away, or let loose in the wild. I also clean the valve springs and valve caps.

If your valves get damaged by spinning them, you'll know right away, and probably need to have some work done on the horn anyway. Granted that if you have a flat spot on the bottom of the valve because it was dropped at some point you probably don't want to spin it. Of if the second valve slide has been smashed into the horn, or if it's a <insert cheapo brand here>, you probably don't want to spin it. But to my knowledge the valves are spun at the factory to ensure symmetry and clearance tollerances. Something about honing the valves. If they weren't meant to be spinned, then they'd be square or some polygon shaped valve. IMO

[John Schmitt]

I use schilke slide grease with a drop or two of whatever oil is hanging around on the valve slides, then the red selmer slide/cork grease on the main slide so it doesn't get away. Liquid lanolin works quite well also. You can get it at some craft stores. I've heard of people using Dexron III, but I haven't tried that.

About al cass... It's 99.5% Kerosine. The other .5% makes it not smell and ignite like kerosine. It does a really good job for a lot of horns, and not so good for others. I think the price of kerosine is the reason it costs so much now.

[melligene]

Vaseline petrolium Jelly. Just enough that you know there is something on the slide. Doesn't take much.

[Dave]

The problem with Vaseline is that if you don't keep it moving it can turn to cement in your slides. Shadow_7's suggestion of the Teflon-based lubricant is a good one if your horn's going to be sitting in a case for any extended period.

[SinglePiston]

Trombontine Slide Cream. Then you just need to moisten the slide when it gets a little sticky. A combination of Lemon Pledge (non aerosol) 30 % and water 70% in a small spritz bottle.