Edwards Slide and Tarnish

[JTeagarden]

I have an Edwards 350 with a TN 22 slide, and it bogs down incredibly fast...

It seems there is no end to the tarnish I can extract from the inside of the outer slide tubes, endless rounds of swabbing with a cleaning rod and Wright's brass polish, cloth black as night each time.

The slide was aligned by the Slide Doctor 4 years ago, and not used much since then, and nothing seems out of alignment: I have never pulled out so much tarnish from a slide as this, are Edwards slides kind of known for this, and/or are they particularly tight (not a lot of clearance between the stockings and the outer slide tubes?)

[bassbone1993]

I have not heard of this. Might be worth reaching out to Edwards about.

[JTeagarden]

Closer inspection (running hand along the outer slide with a very thin cloth) reveals a couple of very small dents in both outer slides, there's my cause of bad slide function, tarnish probably a red herring ...

[Posaunus]

Closer inspection (running hand along the outer slide with a very thin cloth) reveals a couple of very small dents in both outer slides, there's my cause of bad slide function, tarnish probably a red herring ...

Red herring or not, I don't understand why you should be getting so much black gunk from the inner surfaces of the outer slide.

[ghmerrill]

In my experience, depending on what you might have on your cleaning cloth, you can get black gunk on it because of how it reacts with the brass. It doesn't mean the black gunk was there in the first place, but only that your cleaning material/solution has turned to black gunk. For example, using Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish to clean a brass outer slide will, in my experience, always turn your swab black. Maybe Wright's has a similar kind of chemistry?

[JTeagarden]

Could be, I'm using strips from old bed sheets, thrifty guy that I am

[tbonesullivan]

I would take it into a tech if you can, and get that sorted out.

Is that a slide that has Nickel Silver outer tubes? With some metals, using any kind of polish at all will result in black "gunk", as they have some type of abrasive in it, and then the small particles of metal taken off oxidize immediately.

I also have heard that now the Slide Dr. Recommends Goddard's polish and not Wright's.

[JTeagarden]

I sent to slide to Chuck Ward, all is well when moving the unlubed slide, but again, it eventually bogs down, and I can pull out black tarnish on a dry cloth every time.

I’ve never had a slide that was so picky, i do notice that it fits very tight in the outer slide tubes, like there’s very little difference between the outer diameter of the stockings and the inner diameter of the outer slide tubes.

[jpwell]

Slide lube problem?

[JTeagarden]

I’m trying to dial it in, tried a tiny amount of Trombotine, will see if a bit more helps

[GabrielRice]

Nickel tubes? In my experience you will always get black off with brass polish.

Another thing about nickel tubes is that they have longer "memory" than brass. In other words, a tube that gets straightened from having a small bend in it will tend to revert to its bent state. Nickel tubes need to be straightened repeatedly in order to stay straight.

[JTeagarden]

Yellow brass!

[JTeagarden]

Finally figured it out: This slide requires something like 3x the Trombotine of any other slide!

I wasn't lubricating the slide nearly enough.

[Posaunus]

Finally figured it out: This slide requires something like 3x the Trombotine of any other slide!

I wasn't lubricating the slide nearly enough.

Have you tried Yamaha slide lube or Slide-O-Mix Rapid Comfort?
A little goes a long way!

[JTeagarden]

No, Edwards at one point put out a video saying basically "Trombotine works better on our slides."

[BGuttman]

No, Edwards at one point put out a video saying basically "Trombotine works better on our slides."

That's what Christan feels. It makes for a good starting point. But if you find the Yamaha stuff works better, then use it. You aren't going to ruin the slide by using a different lube. I'd bet there are at least a dozen Chatters who use Yamaha Slide Lube on their Edwards trombones.

Note: I'm a Trombotine advocate as well, but most of my slides are older and tend to work better with creams like Trombotine, SuperSlick, Pond's cold cream, etc.

[Posaunus]

No, Edwards at one point put out a video saying basically "Trombotine works better on our slides."

I have owned and played two different Getzen trombones. Not factory-fresh - several years old. Both slides work SUPERBLY (10/10) with (just small amounts of) Yamaha or Rapid Comfort liquid lubricant. I'm meticulous about my slide hygiene - my cleaning swabs emerge pristine - no green oxidation or black tarnish visible. I can't imagine that Edwards slides (made in the same factory by the same craftsmen) are any worse or significantly different.

It certainly won't do any harm to try a different lubricant.

[ghmerrill]

When I got my (used, but virtually unused) Getzen 1052, of course the first thing I did was thoroughly clean the slide (it was noticeably dirty, but not terrible). I got some black deposits on the swabs, and some green deposits from swabbing the outer slide. Not bad, but there. A couple of weeks later (after several more cleanings), the traces of black disappeared. I haven't seen a sign of it since. And yes, the slide works SUPERBLY. I use only the Yamasnot as lubricant on the slide, and clean it thoroughly each week. All I use to clean it is 90% isopropyl alcohol on lint free synthetic gauze cleaning patches.

[JTeagarden]

Dialed it in: If I apply a lot of Yamaha lube to the inner slide tubes ABOVE but not on the stockings, the slide stays pretty good for a long time, if I put the lube on the stockings themselves, the slide bogs down rather quickly.

[ghmerrill]

You may be trying to use a bit too much lube. I've noticed that to some degree with my Getzen, and if I put on any more than a kind of minimal amount of lube, when I clean the slide I'll notice some lube build-up just above the top of the stocking. Given my playing schedule, I clean the slide thoroughly once a week, lube it (pretty minimally now, with Yamasnot), and will spray it with water a few times during the week. I don't get any build-up and the slide works great.

[BPBasso]

I have a 20 year getzen bass, ran into similar issues upon returning to playing after a long break. "Professionally" cleaned, as well as a proper slide bath at home with multiple swabbing/snaking sessions to get the slide as clean as possible.

I tried using SlideoMix Rapid, then trombotine as I had used in the past - separately. Both would gum up within one or two days. I tried Alessi and Yamaha slide lubes as well. Similar issue after one or two days.

I saw a member of the forum share that they use a small amount of trombotine on the stockings, then add Yamaha lube to finish on their Edwards slide. I tried this and have had positive results. For me, the slide stays very quickly with only a small spray of (distilled) water being needed after 3-4 days to get the slide going for the session. I'm cleaning and relubing once a week now. Very little gunk come out during cleanings.