TromboneChat

After washing my inner slide, I notice that the inside of the top tube is super-smooth: water just cascades off.
But the bottom tube always has many droplets stuck all over the inside, no matter how many swipes through with soap and/or rinses.

I think it's reasonable to assume those droplets aren't helpful. Do I need to polish the inside of that tube, or are those droplets a sign of something else?

I've done it many times. There are good instructions somewhere. Use a non-abrasive brass polish. I have Wright's.

I clean my slide weekly (with cloth patch swabs and 90% rubbing alcohol) to the "mirror bright" finish. At times I'll notice that the lower will have a visible non-reflective patch (for lack of a better term) of some sort of build-up right about where the stocking starts. Additional cleaning typically removes this appearance, but if it's stubborn, then I do a really thorough slide cleaning with warm water and Simple Green. That always does the trick. Sometimes I'm lazy and run a few swabs with WD-40 on them through through the lower, followed by another alcohol swabbing, and that does it (it's a penetrating cleaner).

I don't think there's any danger from using an even mildly abrasive polish if you must (the nickel is very hard), but I haven't found the need for it. I don't so much like the idea of having to be so careful cleaning off any "polish" residue, and you definitely don't want anything that might be problematic getting into your outer (brass) slide. Do be sure that you THOROUGHLY rinse/flush/swab off any polish you may use.

When in doubt, the old "pump" cleaning, with swabbing and a good detergent should always work -- unless you've let the slide go for so long that you have a significant problem.

GabrielRice wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 4:35 pm I've done it many times. There are good instructions somewhere. Use a non-abrasive brass polish. I have Wright's.

Isn't that usually the outer slide?

What does it look like dry? Nice and shiny?

The inside of the inner? Mine are usually pretty shiny to begin with. I'm not sure there is any real benefit to polishing the inside. Is the chrome plate on the tubes just on the outside?

The inner tubes (at least in my case) are fully plated, inside and outside (and in all three of my horns). I assume this is true for everyone's. Nonetheless, you can get some sort of deposit that clings to the inside in places. I'm not sure what "pretty" shiny means. When I clean them, I go for "mirror" shiny. It doesn't really take any effort if you clean them regularly. If you let things sit long between cleanings, stuff tends to stick or build up.

JohnL wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 5:53 pm

GabrielRice wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 4:35 pm I've done it many times. There are good instructions somewhere. Use a non-abrasive brass polish. I have Wright's.

Isn't that usually the outer slide?

What does it look like dry? Nice and shiny?

Oops, yes. I polish the inside of the outer slide.

Thanks for the comments. I'll try a non-abrasive polish, I seriously doubt it can do any harm and I do have a water-based (Goddards, I think - basically the same as Wright's).

I'll probably polish the outers too while I'm at it.

I swab my inside slide tubes with a Yamaha pull string cloth, made specifically for trombones. Once the inside is "bone" dry, they look very clean. I think polishing would only be called for if they are so dirty that soapy water and cleaning brush didn't get the job done.

As to your comments about water droplets, if that's your main concern then a swab will get them out with a couple of passes.

ghmerrill wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 8:40 pm The inner tubes (at least in my case) are fully plated, inside and outside (and in all three of my horns). I assume this is true for everyone's. Nonetheless, you can get some sort of deposit that clings to the inside in places. I'm not sure what "pretty" shiny means. When I clean them, I go for "mirror" shiny. It doesn't really take any effort if you clean them regularly. If you let things sit long between cleanings, stuff tends to stick or build up.

I run a Brass Saver brush through the inside of the inners every time I re-lubed my slide, several times until they are shiny. I don't see any reason to use any type of more aggressive polish.

ghmerrill wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 8:40 pm The inner tubes (at least in my case) are fully plated, inside and outside (and in all three of my horns).

No, they're not. Plating inside a long, narrow tube is very, very hard to do. The inner tubes are made of nickel silver, and are "silver" in color. But they're not plated inside

tbonesullivan wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 8:17 amI run a Brass Saver brush through the inside of the inners every time I re-lubed my slide, several times until they are shiny. I don't see any reason to use any type of more aggressive polish.

A Brass Saver works well, though you do need to run it through a few times to get all the moisture. I dry the swab with a paper towel between each pass.

hornbuilder wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 4:40 pm No, they're not. Plating inside a long, narrow tube is very, very hard to do. The inner tubes are made of nickel silver, and are "silver" in color. But they're not plated inside

Thanks. I'd just assumed that they were plated. But that was unreasonable. After all, nickel lead pipes aren't plated.

Alisyn Solvent Cleaner. Safe for metals, non abrasive, leaves no residue, no need to rinse forever like you do with brass polish. I've used it on the inside of my outer slide and it worked very well. Isn't going to polish the metal, but to me the whole point is to clean out the crud. I don't care about having the inside of the inner slide shiny.

wayne88ny wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 6:10 pm Alisyn Solvent Cleaner. Safe for metals, non abrasive, leaves no residue, no need to rinse forever like you do with brass polish. I've used it on the inside of my outer slide and it worked very well. Isn't going to polish the metal, but to me the whole point is to clean out the crud. I don't care about having the inside of the inner slide shiny.

My experience is that if you properly dry out your inner slide, it will remain shiny - essentially mirror finish. My inner slides remain shiny, inside and out, and my outer slides are "crud-free" and operate smoothly - perhaps due to my anal-compulsive, regular slide hygiene protocol. (No solvents required.)

TomInME wrote: Mon Dec 15, 2025 4:08 pm I think it's reasonable to assume those droplets aren't helpful.

No, they aren't helpful. I think if left outside the case for a few hours or even a full day, that this moisture will successfully air dry. Mine do. I think many take this approach. Some will use a brass saver brush or a rod with scrap cloth to immediately dry them out. I sometimes take this approach, too. Other times I use a datavac in reverse to blow the water out. I think polishing them might have a similar (auto) effect of letting the water just bead off, too, as you suggest.

Do I need to polish the inside of that tube

I don't think you need to. You could let the drops air dry outside of the case. Lots of player do this. I do this. Or i take the datavac route to blow it out. Or use a brass saver brush. But it sounds like you intend to polish the lowers to match the uppers. There is nothing wrong with this approach. And it will likely work as you intend. It sounds very low maintenance or maintenance-free!

or are those droplets a sign of something else?

Nah, they are just a sign that the droplets have something to "grab onto". The rough brass finish could have irregularities or imperfections that are allowing the water to latch onto. Nothing more, IMO. Polishing will likely cause the droplets to have less irregularities to grab into and bead off. None of this is unusual nor harmful for brass. The drops will air dry after a while.

I'm not sure how much they dry on their own.

I did leave the horn on a stand, with the outer slide upside down on the brace. (no children or pets here, and the family doesn't use that part of the basement much.)

Then I got a brass saver, and found that the outer slide stays wet a lot longer than I thought.

Also, consider the attachment tubing. The Yamaha I'm playing now, closed wrap, tunes on the bottom leg of the tubing, so it's simple to pull that slide and dump condensation. It always has some.

timothy42b wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 7:10 am I'm not sure how much they dry on their own.

Hmm. I bet you are right. Next time I wash and rinse mine I'm going to observe how much seem to air dry (if any) over 24 hours. Either testing with a brass saver or using the blower to blow them out and see how much water I seem to wick out. I have a hunch you are probably right and my old school air drying may be wishful thinking!

Water condensing into droplets in the inners has a deadening effect on my sound.
Not much, but enough to be aggravating.
After a cleaning, I swab those surfaces with a thin layer of slide oil.
It helps.

CharlieB wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 1:31 pm After a cleaning, I swab those surfaces with a thin layer of slide oil.
It helps.

I do the same thing but I do in on my upper inners before every practice session. It does help, I agree.

The Watrous method

dukesboneman wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 7:02 pm The Watrous method

Bill is polishing the inside of the outer slide, but I've never heard him describe how he keeps the inner slides clean.