Slide maintenance

[CrisHagmannBone]

Hey everyone! I recently got a brand new slide from Edwards and when I first got it the slide action was a little funky but I switched from yamasnot to trombontine and it seemed to fix it. Fast forward 3 weeks later and I feel that my slide action has somehow gotten worse? It feels like there’s dents in 5th position when I know there isn’t any and it overall just feels not as smooth. I’ve cleaned it out with cheese cloth and a rod followed by a snake with dawn soap and it still isn’t much better. Is there anything else I should do to maintain my slide? Is there a better cloth to use than cheesecloth to clean the slide? How often should I be cleaning it since I’m using trombontine and what’s the best way to apply trombontine.

[Posaunus]

This is probably just not a lubrication / maintenance issue.
Your slide could be subtly warped / misaligned.
Return to Edwards / bring to an expert slide tech?

[Bonearzt]

IMHO, the flexible snake won't do much with the outer slide tubes, only the crook.

Sounds like you have done everything right as far as maintenance, now it's time to see a slide tech, and/or Edwards to figure out what's affecting your slide.

I prefer Trombotine to anything for my slide, and my customers too.
I have found that the most common issue is not using enough cream!! I use a half-inch blob on each stocking and work them individually to coat the entire interior of the outer tubes. Then douse with a generous squirt of water.
Assemble and work the slide and then wipe the inner tubes, and then apply another generous squirt of water.

This is my routine and has served me well for years!

[pmeiden]

Every few cleanings (similar process to yours), I also wipe the inners with isopropyl alcohol - I use CVS lens wipes. They are packaged individually so easy to keep a couple in the case, are lint free, and seem to do a good job getting any residue off the slide. I use Rapid Comfort on my Edwards slides.

[wayne88ny]

Put the cloth on the rod so it fits tightly into the outer slide (but not so tightly that you have to force it in). Run the rod through each side of the slide 20 times. If it's still not working well, check the tubes one at a time to see where the problem is located. Chances are there's some gunk in that area that needs to be scrubbed out. I had a similar problem with one of my slides and a sprayed some Alisyn solvent on the end of the cloth on the rod. Work that area multiple times. change the cloth and repeat. Unfortunately, the Alisyn solvent has bee discontinued, but you can still get it from Music Medic.

[Bonearzt]

Put the cloth on the rod so it fits tightly into the outer slide (but not so tightly that you have to force it in). Run the rod through each side of the slide 20 times. If it's still not working well, check the tubes one at a time to see where the problem is located. Chances are there's some gunk in that area that needs to be scrubbed out. I had a similar problem with one of my slides and a sprayed some Alisyn solvent on the end of the cloth on the rod. Work that area multiple times. change the cloth and repeat. Unfortunately, the Alisyn solvent has bee discontinued, but you can still get it from Music Medic.

When using a rod to swab the tubes, remember to pull on the cloth and NOT the rod!!
If you pull on the rod, the cloth can possibly double up on itself and distort the tube!!!

[Crazy4Tbone86]

The majority of people I witness swabbing their slides have the opposite issue of what Eric is warning about. I see so many trombone players placing so little cloth on their cleaning rods that it is not gripping the dirt on the inside of the outer slide. The swab really needs to grip and rub firmly in order to remove the dirt.

Granted, if the swab gets stuck or requires excessive effort to move or remove, the problem the Eric mentions is definitively in play. It takes a fair amount of trial and error to determine how firm the swab should feel.

[harrisonreed]

Slide-o-mix swab sleeves, anyone?

[Burgerbob]

Slide-o-mix swab sleeves, anyone?

Yup, just use these and save yourself the trouble

[pfrancis]

They’re discontinued! Buy them while you can

[officermayo]

Slide-o-mix swab sleeves, anyone?

Agree 100%.
Just be sure to use the right one.
Red for small bore - blue for large.

[Burgerbob]

They’re discontinued! Buy them while you can

This is not good!!!

[harrisonreed]

Good thing you can machine wash them 1000x!

[Burgerbob]

Good thing you can machine wash them 1000x!

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

[Posaunus]

Good thing you can machine wash them 1000x!

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

Just washed both my red & blue Slide-O-Mix "towel sheaths." Came out great. Washed many times before.
I now use a Slide-O-Mix cleaning rod with a soft plastic tip - it won't poke a hole in the sheath like a metal rod does.

Guess I'd better order another set of sheaths before they disappear!

[officermayo]

Good thing you can machine wash them 1000x!

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

That happened on my large bote swab. I sewed it closed.

[Burgerbob]

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

Just washed both my red & blue Slide-O-Mix "towel sheaths." Came out great. Washed many times before.
I now use a Slide-O-Mix cleaning rod with a soft plastic tip - it won't poke a hole in the sheath like a metal rod does.

Guess I'd better order another set of sheaths before they disappear!

That's the only rod I've used with them! Still destroyed several. Along with some rips farther up.

[KWL]

They’re discontinued! Buy them while you can

I notice Dillon already offers only the small (red) sheath.

[tbonesullivan]

Whoa what? Really? Why would they do that? It's probably the best cleaning system out there.I can't imagine that sales of it are poor.

[harrisonreed]

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

That happened on my large bote swab. I sewed it closed.

This is the way

[tbonesullivan]

That happened on my large bote swab. I sewed it closed.

This is the way

I thankfully have never had that happen. I have both the red and blue swabs, and an extra blue swab that has never been out of the package. Still bummed about this. I checked the German website, and sure enough, all they list now is the red sleeve and a new "Multiwiper". Hopefully someone else picks up the concept and starts making them. It's just so much easier to use than the old cheesecloth / muslin / flannel wrapped on a rod.

https://slide-o-mix.com/?page_id=494&lang=en

[officermayo]

You can, but I have 3 or 4 that are holed through by the cleaning rod.

That happened on my large bore swab. I sewed it closed.

[sf105]

Still bummed about this. I checked the German website, and sure enough, all they list now is the red sleeve and a new "Multiwiper". Hopefully someone else picks up the concept and starts making them.
https://slide-o-mix.com/?page_id=494&lang=en

Has anyone tried the new multiwiper?

S

[muschem]

My set of red and blue Slide-O-Mix sheaths are holding up very well. But, it's probably worth noting that Butler offers a similar version with a fiberglass rod, which seems less prone to poking through: https://butlertrombones.com/shop/magic-slide-wand/.

[Burgerbob]

Great! I'll get some of those.