TromboneChat

I have got a lot of divergent info on how to use the stuff..
Some say , use a tiny smidge while some say to use a lot and then wipe of the inner slide.. What are the trombone chat consensus?

Trond

Wipe everything off the inners. Swab the outer tubes really well.

Wipe a small amount on the stockings and work it up the slide tubes.

One outer at a time, work the outer slide over the inner tube, up and down and rotating, to work it into the outer tubes.

Wipe the inners off.

Assemble slide.

Spray with distilled water.

Let the original Slide Dr. show you:

https://youtu.be/uMrUxLKMRQ8

Cheers,
Andy

Ok...Two votes for "less is more"

Yeah, more or less, less is more. I stopped using it in favor of Yamasnot. But I used to apply a small smudge to the stockings and another smudge about 2nd position, mist and work the slide. Same with the old superslick. Some people would add a drop from the silicone additive bottle.

When swabbing, I will often use two (2) smidges (smidge = dried lentil) of Trombotine when swabbing the interior of each tube of the outer slide. It seems to clean smooth out the tubes. Then I apply one smidge on the stockings and work it in.

I do this about once each week. After one or two days, I’ll use UltraPure Alessi formula the rest of the week (previously, I used Yamasnot).

To be clear, by "work the slide" we mean work the dab of lube across the outside of the inner slide tube with fingers, right?

That is what I do. Start with a clean slide, then "work" in a small dab on each inner slide tube.

A helpful rule of thumb I have: Only use enough lube (of whatever kind) to the point that you no longer hear any "scratchiness" when working the outer tubes up and down the inners, and no more!

AndrewMeronek wrote: Fri May 29, 2026 1:44 pm To be clear, by "work the slide" we mean work the dab of lube across the outside of the inner slide tube with fingers, right?

That is what I do. Start with a clean slide, then "work" in a small dab on each inner slide tube.

That's what I meant by it, FWIW!

JTeagarden wrote: Fri May 29, 2026 1:54 pm A helpful rule of thumb I have: Only use enough lube (of whatever kind) to the point that you no longer hear any "scratchiness" when working the outer tubes up and down the inners, and no more!

When I get a slide back from a repair tech, I like to get it back completely dry and test it that way. If the tech did a great job, the slide while dry will be very fast, no scratchy noises, and even the "swoosh" of doing large slide motions does not noticeably increase or decrease in pitch. That last part means that the alignment is good. If the slide is great, then the lube is only really needed once condensation starts to apply from playing. Water is sticky.

I am no longer a user, but when I was, I took an extra step that was recommended here by the late, great Sam Burtis: add 2-3 drops of Hetman HydroSlide to your spray bottle. This not only extended the usable life of the Trombotine application but also took overall slickness to another level as well.

You'll need to really dial in the amount of drops to add based on the size of your bottle. Less is more in my experience, one small drop too many and it feels like you just put fresh Elmer's Glue on your slide. Find the sweet spot and you'll know it immediately, the difference is very noticeable IMO to both longevity and general effect.

"Try everything, use what works." and "Bet on it."

I use Yamasnot on my plated slides but always Trombotine on my unplated, raw brass/nickel slides. For me it's simultaneously both less is more and using a lot, in that I use a lot but wind up leaving fairly little on the slide by the end of the process.

For me the key principles are, 1) the cream is not the lubricant, the lubricant is the beads of water, and the cream is there to make the water pearl into those beads, and keep it from just flowing straight off the slide, and 2) I want to have an even, full-coverage but very thin film.

So I first wipe the inners completely clean. Then I put quite a bit of cream on the inners (several pea-sized dollops along the length), which I then spread with the edge of a folded piece of paper towel until the tubes are evenly covered all around and from top to bottom. I then use another fresh piece of paper towel wrapped somewhat loosely around the slide to wipe the excess off, which is probably most of what I put on in the first place. I aim to see just a film of cream on the slide, evenly distributed all around. Then it's sprayed generously with water and straight into the outers, without the often seen one-tube-at-a-time-and-rotate step. With a brass slide, my experience is that the result is very poor if both the inners and outers are deliberately coated. When coating the outers, it's very hard to control how much ends up inside and how evenly it's distributed, and having to clean it out is really a pain, especially on the long bass sackbut slide for which no snake long enough exists.

I find that using more and then wiping most of it off gives me better and more consistent coverage, and more control over the process, than trying to use very little and leaving it all on the slide; in my experience even when using very little without then wiping it, there still often ended up being too much (or too much in certain spots). And if I wipe the excess off after applying, there needs to have enough on there to begin with, otherwise it's hard to get that even film.

An added benefit of itinially applying more and then wiping it, on an unplated slide, is that the cream cleans off and captures some of the oxydation that doesn't come off from just a dry wipe. If the slide surface was really oxydizing and the paper towel when applying or wiping the excess comes out too black or blue, I will fully wipe all of it off and start again, and usually the second time the excess cream comes out clean, which indicates there was no oxydation residue left to clean off.

I abanded Trombotine long ago when the Yamaha “Slide Oil” came out. But it seemed to me that ever time Yamaha changed the container design they changed the product. At some time along that path they started calling it “Slide Cream”. It worked still on my old slides so I used it.

I bought a new Edward’s slide, and it was TIGHT. Yamaha stuff simply did not work. I watched an old slide cleaning video on the Edward’s site about recommended slide cleaning, followed that and it is GREAT!! Back to Trombotine, gave away all my Yamaha stuff. The key is to “cut” the stuff on the slide so it is absolutely clean before applying new, and coating the entire inner stock with a layer of Trombotine so thin you don’t see it.

Doug

Throw it away and use Yamysnot.

officermayo wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 5:35 am Throw it away and use Yamysnot.

Ehh....No !!

officermayo wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 5:35 am Throw it away and use Yamysnot.

Yamasnot is great for many slides, but can be completely useless on others. I use it on one of my slides. The others absolutely need a cream.

I use "Yamasnot" on my more modern slides but "Trombotine" on the older slides.

Cheers

Stewbones43

I'll use Trombotine until either I croak, or find a slide that it doesn't work so well with (so far, none).

My 3 vintage slides need a cream; this is why I got Trombotine in the first place.

After cleaning the inner and outer slide tubes, I use about a ½" line per inner and rub it along the stockings only. Work upper and lower independently, then together. Wipe off inners. Repeat the working in until inner tubes no longer show cream. Mist as necessary.

Is ½" a bit much? I've heard that you want the inside of the outer slide to have a complete but thin coating to work against. YMMV regarding how much that is for your slide(s). For me, this process above works better than Yamaha lube (methinks) would, or Slide-O-Mix (experience) did, on my tenors.

I use much less Trombotine (a spot per) when working on the Getzen. Same process, though.

Kevbach33 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2026 1:09 pm I'll use Trombotine until either I croak, or find a slide that it doesn't work so well with (so far, none).

My 3 vintage slides need a cream; this is why I got Trombotine in the first place.

After cleaning the inner and outer slide tubes, I use about a ½" line per inner and rub it along the stockings only. Work upper and lower independently, then together. Wipe off inners. Repeat the working in until inner tubes no longer show cream. Mist as necessary.

Is ½" a bit much? I've heard that you want the inside of the outer slide to have a complete but thin coating to work against. YMMV regarding how much that is for your slide(s). For me, this process above works better than Yamaha lube (methinks) would, or Slide-O-Mix (experience) did, on my tenors.

I use much less Trombotine (a spot per) when working on the Getzen. Same process, though.

This is exactly the way I have approached it too.. The reason I started this thread is that all of my slides (3) have different challenges and may need different approaches.. I consider 1/2" on each tube too qualify as "much".. This work great on my Bass slide, not so much on my big tenor and gets really soggy on my small tenor.. Not done experimenting ,but needed to get various views .. Thank You all ..Keep 'em coming

Trond

I always recommend Trombotine AND using quite a bit more than you think you should!
As mentioned, you need/want to coat the entire INNER surface of the outer tubes, top to bottom.
I use a blob a little bigger than a corn kernal, spread over the stockings and then work into each outer tube.
Then I liberally douse with water, I use a discarded eye-contact saline bottle NOT the silly little "misters", the do nothing for me...
Next step is to gently wipe the inners, not necessarily trying to remove EVERY bit of cream, then douse with water & work the slide.

Seems to work for me and my customers for the last 30+ years....

Bonearzt wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 7:25 pm I always recommend Trombotine AND using quite a bit more than you think you should!
As mentioned, you need/want to coat the entire INNER surface of the outer tubes, top to bottom.
I use a blob a little bigger than a corn kernal, spread over the stockings and then work into each outer tube.
Then I liberally douse with water, I use a discarded eye-contact saline bottle NOT the silly little "misters", the do nothing for me...
Next step is to gently wipe the inners, not necessarily trying to remove EVERY bit of cream, then douse with water & work the slide.

Seems to work for me and my customers for the last 30+ years....

When using this much cream ; while working the slide after lubrication some of the cream ends up on the inner slide again.. Do You wipe up and work the slide or just keep on playing? .. ( should the inner always look bright ?

I've been using Trombotine ever since they changed (and ruined) the Pond's formula.
I also find the apply - wipe off - reapply method works very well.