SimpleCoat ???

[Deano]

Happy Holidays everyone.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried using this product on their horn: https://www.simplecoat.com/
I use SimpleCoat for polishing and protecting many items in the home and including countertops, metals, tile, and grout. It is great on chrome and leather too.

Today I polished my 1978 silver Bach 42 with it and it looks great! Then I tried it on the slide and WOW! The slide is a 8.5/10. Old but good, and picky when it comes to lubricants. I cleaned it thoroughly, dried it, and then applied SimpleCoat and I was amazed. Very slick and no additional lubricant needed other than water.

Any thoughts?

[harrisonreed]

How did you use it on your slide? Inners, outers, or both?

I'm intrigued, because my Edwards slide is a PITA to keep at a 9/10

[tbonesullivan]

I checked the MSDS, and it is listed as an eye irritant, but everything inside is a "trade secret" and "proprietary". However considering it is a clear liquid that somehow seals surfaces I'm going to guess the mixture contains a good amount of silicone.

[Deano]

How did you use it on your slide? Inners, outers, or both?

I'm intrigued, because my Edwards slide is a PITA to keep at a 9/10

I used it on my inner slides (chrome). The liquid has no order.

[MTbassbone]

I checked the MSDS, and it is listed as an eye irritant, but everything inside is a "trade secret" and "proprietary". However considering it is a clear liquid that somehow seals surfaces I'm going to guess the mixture contains a good amount of silicone.

I have wondered the same about Great Slide used by the Slide Doctor.

[harrisonreed]

Greatslide works "great". It's just a total PITA to do properly. I'd recommend it though if you want to spend an afternoon and have a well ventilated spot to do it. The sheer amount of corrosion it takes out is incredible, and that's after you've already done the initial work with normal brass polish.

[CharlieB]

"Simple Coat" here:
https://www.amazon.com/SimpleCoat-Natur ... B07GR8YP47

Many dollars ..... OUCH !!!

[muschem]

I picked up a bottle of this to try out, and I'm impressed so far.

It seems to work equally well on my metal slides as well as my carbon fiber slides, which is great. The CF slides like to be dry (surface tension of water slows them down), and this coating works better/more consistently than the light application of Berp BioLube I had been using. With a brass slide, a light spray of water on top of the Simple Coat product works great, and feels easily as good if not better than Yama-snot for me.

The application is dead simple - not as much of a pain to get "just right" as some slide lubes (creams, multi-part products, etc.) I've used over the years. I do wonder about how protective the coating is over the long term for metal on metal wear. Most of my slides are CF now, and I'm not really concerned about the CF outer abrading/wearing the chrome plated inner. But, for brass/nickel slides I wonder. That said, most nickel outers I've tried tend to be a bit louder/scratchier than brass outers, but the nickel slide on my Shires alto is smooth and quiet with this product applied. So, maybe it is fine as a protective layer against wear over the long term. Hard to say without more data.

It will be interesting to see how long an application typically lasts in a somewhat off-label use case. The guide they send with the product recommends reapplying after 6 months for natural stone, but they say it can be applied as frequently as daily without significant build-up. The amount needed to effectively lubricate a slide is very small, so if it lasts longer than more traditional slide lube products, the high initial cost may break even or come out ahead in the long run. It would be nice if they sold it in smaller quantities.

Good find!

[Posaunus]

Hmmm.

At the recommendation of my cabinet-maker friend, I purchased a car wax product called Eagle One Superior NANOWAX to maintain the surfaces of our kitchen cabinets, It really works great, and cost less than $10 for a 23 ounce spray bottle. I think it's now been renamed Eagle One All-Surface NANOWAX Spray, and now seems hard to get. (I got mine at an auto parts store.)
https://www.carid.com/eagle-one/superio ... d=46062279

It contains nano-size carnauba wax particles to fill scratches and small pores, leaving a smooth shiny surface. I don't think it contains silicone. I tried it on my plastic Tromba (P-Bone clone) trombone slide (after smoothing the stockings with 0000 steel wool), and the improvement was dramatic. I would guess that it might work well on trombone slides and exterior lacquered surfaces - perhaps even carbon fiber - but haven't tried it there.

Certainly a lot less expensive than SimpleCoat!

[Crazy4Tbone86]

Did you apply the Eagle One All-Surface Nanowax to the inside of your outer slides?

[Doug Elliott]

On the Simplecoat Safety Data Sheet:

"90.5 % of the mixture consists of component(s) of unknown toxicity."

I wonder how they get away with saying it's non-toxic, when that's a clear admission that they don't know.

[DougHulme]

We (UK) have something called 'Rainex' to put on your windscreen of the car - I've seen exact same product in the US (but cant remember what it was called). It does have a good effect on teh slide but takes forever to apply properly and then needs re doing with some frequency. Its a lot cheaper than 'Simplecoat' and readily available in sizes that will last a life time of slides. I have absolutely no knowledge on its toxity (but then again from what Doug says I am at no disadvantage from using Simple coat!!). I dont use Rainex anymore because of the time and effort it takes... Doug

[BGuttman]

FWIW, Rainex is available in the US. It's a silicone product. I wouldn't drink the stuff, but if used as directed it should not provide any hazard. I found that Rainex made water bead up on my windshield (windscreen) but when I tried to use the wipers they just moved the drops around and didn't clear the windshield. Never tried it as a slide lube.

[Doug Elliott]

RainEx is a wax. I think any car wax has pretty much the same effect. It's great on a windshield for a while, but it doesn't last very long. It wouldn't last any time at all on a slide.

[Posaunus]

Rain-X is a synthetic hydrophobic surface-applied product that causes water to bead up and run off surfaces, most commonly used on glass automobile surfaces.

https://www.rainx.com/original-glass-water-repellent/

[Crazy4Tbone86]

I love Rain-X! I do the full treatment on my car windshields about 2 or 3 times a year. When combined with the Rain-X washer fluid, I rarely need to use my windshield wipers when driving 55 mph or faster. Water just blows off.

I never considered it for use on a trombone slide. Let the experiments begin!

[baBposaune]

Never had a big improvement with Rain-X on a slide but I did just order SimpleCoat because even though it's pricey I will hardly need any to coat the inner slide tubes and can use it on my counter tops and appliances. I've paid more for granite sealer and the good stuff is petroleum based and smells harsh. I don't mind paying up for SimpleCoat because it should be safe to use on my slide.

[DougHulme]

Brian... there was a discussion years back on the old forum about Rainex. There was a product on the market that w as expensive and promoted for making your slide faster. It was only on sale in The States and I really can't remember what it was called - might still be available. It was suggested it was just Rainex re bottled. the manufacturer got most indignant about this suggestion saying his product had secret ingrediants and was not Rainex rebottled - I'm pretty sure it was Rainex rebottled! I had the special stuff and Rainex and did several joint applications - even mixed the two together. No scientific evidence to refute the proprieters claim but I remain convinced it was Rainex... Thus I suspect that several members here may have experience of using rainex without realising it... I'll leave an address for the law suits (but it wont be mine!!). I'll post again when I remember the name of the propriety brand of slide treatment, I expect I have a bottle or something in my massive collection of bits and pieces... Doug

[DougHulme]

Actually now I think about it that product wasnt US it was German and was probably Heydays (I think). Do they still trade?.. Doug

[bbocaner]

ceramic coatings are all the rage in the car world, they act similar to waxes but provide much better protection and act much longer. They seem to use silicon (not silicone) dioxide nanoparticles that bond to the surface and make it so slippery that dust and dirt usually just don't even stick to the car, but will wash off super easily if they do. It's usually fairly expensive stuff and I wonder if it's related to this simplecoat product?

[baBposaune]

My first trial of SimpleCoat was last night after cleaning and drying my inner slide tubes. I applied it with the provided cloth, wiped off the excess, sprayed distilled water and tried the action. Have to say I was impressed. I did not expect the results to be so slippery.

Picked my horn up off the trombone stand this morning and tried it again, this time no additional water or anything else. It was a little less slippery but still better than day old Yamaha Slide Lubricant, which is what I normally use. I usually wipe off the Yamaha and re-apply daily to a clean inner slide. With the SimpleCoat this step doesn't appear to be necessary. (So far.)

Next test later today will be to thoroughly dry the inside of the outer slide, apply some SimpleCoat and swab out excess, spray with water and play. I will be paying attention to how long the action lasts before needing to re-apply.
Results will be updated to this thread over the next for days or possibly weeks.

Matt Varho

[DougHulme]

Of course there is nothing stopping you using Simple Coat and Yamaha Slide Lube together unless there might be a reaction between the two(?) Maybe a day or two with just simple coat then start with your normal lube... I havant tried it yet so I am just thinking out loud - but that was what I did with Rainex and it worked ok - was just too much bother for only a little gain (I abuse my slides as far as cleaning is concerned!)... Doug

PS I've just ordeered some Simple Coat from Amazon - youve got me all curious now!

[Deano]

Thanks for the updates everyone.
I use the simple coat with water and it is great, but even better when adding a bit Yamaha Slide Lubricant.
Simple coat is great for counter tops, metal sinks, chrome, mirrors, and many other uses. It even seals the grout in my shower.
I have no stake in the company. I'm just a fan.

[baBposaune]

It appears more testing is needed to find the ideal application. I coated my outer slide tubes and removed the excess then tried the slide again with distilled water. Pretty good. Then I added a very small amount of Yamaha lube and I didn't feel a marked difference. So, back to the drawing board and I will wipe down the inner tubes and leave the outside slide as is for now. Still, it's very interesting stuff but I'm not sure I'm 100% sure I'm ready to endorse it.

Worked great on my stainless refrigerator and granite counter though!

[baBposaune]

Day 3: Swabbed inside slide and wiped down inners until there was no effective amount of "SimpleCoat" remaining. Spayed slide with water and action was the same as my slide is usually after cleaning but without applying lube. Then I applied Yamaha lubricant and my slide felt the way it usually does. My subjective comparison between just the "Simple" and just Yamaha is that they are comparable in slickness. I found that using both products at the same time was not all that different. But I'm not done...

I will try again to coat the inners more lightly with the "Simple" and check the result: sometimes "less is more" really works better.

[DougHulme]

Just a question to consider... having put the simple coat on and have it adhere to the metal surface, it may not be posible to get the coating off unless chemicals such as a degreaser are used - simple wiping will just polish the surface of the simple coat? Jut thinking out loud as usual... Doug

[johntarr]

Any more experience with Simple Coat?

[hyperbolica]

Would someone who bought the Simple Coat stuff test it against straight up mineral oil? Some of the comments on Amazon suggest they are the same.

[muschem]

This has been my only slide lube product for the past 6 months, and I'm happy with the results. Regular applications haven't resulted in any noticeable build-up or other negative impacts over time.

On my CF slides, I typically get anywhere from 2-3 days of playing time out of an application before I need to re-apply. I go longer on my alto between applications - maybe a week or two... possibly longer (I need to track this better). I don't play alto much, which I'm sure is a factor. I do use a water bottle on alto in combination with this product, so I don't think water acts as much of a solvent for it. On my tenors and bass, the CF slides like to be dry. So, occasionally, I'll wipe the inners on those slides down with a clean, dry cloth to remove condensation. Whether it is the difference in amount of use, the cloth wipe-down vs water bottle, or some other factor (maybe CF outers are "thirsty" and soak up the product) contributing to the difference in application frequency between slide types, I don't know.

I've been using a micro fiber cloth for application of the product, and storing it in a ziplock bag between uses. I've found that the cloth gets saturated pretty quickly, but stored in a sealed bag, the product doesn't dry out on the cloth. So, once the cloth reaches a certain level of saturation, I don't need to add more liquid from the bottle - I just wipe the inners dry with a clean cloth and then give the stockings a quick pass with the saturated SimpleCoat cloth, and... done. At the rate I've used it over the past 6 months, I'd guess that the bottle will last years, if not decades.

I was curious about wear over time. The only metal-on-metal slide I have in rotation is on my alto, and I don't play it as much as I do tenor and bass. I haven't spotted any signs of wear so far, but 6 months isn't a lot of time in which to judge that. I'll give it longer before speculating on the protective nature of the product for metal slides, but so far it isn't an immediate "no".

No idea on the material safety... they claim it is "food safe and non-toxic". I couldn't really attest one way or another to that claim. I haven't grown any extra eyes, ears, etc. while using it, but I'm also not in the habit of licking my slide, and my days of marching and high-angle horn flashes to the box are well behind me, so no risk of condensation carrying product back into my mouth.

[muschem]

Would someone who bought the Simple Coat stuff test it against straight up mineral oil? Some of the comments on Amazon suggest they are the same.

I haven't compared the two, but they claim it doesn't contain any:
"No Harsh Chemicals or Mineral Oil: 100% active formula with no odor, solvents, VOCs, BPAs, or petroleum distillates"

[johntarr]

This has been my only slide lube product for the past 6 months, and I'm happy with the results. Regular applications haven't resulted in any noticeable build-up or other negative impacts over time.

On my CF slides, I typically get anywhere from 2-3 days of playing time out of an application before I need to re-apply. I go longer on my alto between applications - maybe a week or two... possibly longer (I need to track this better). I don't play alto much, which I'm sure is a factor. I do use a water bottle on alto in combination with this product, so I don't think water acts as much of a solvent for it. On my tenors and bass, the CF slides like to be dry. So, occasionally, I'll wipe the inners on those slides down with a clean, dry cloth to remove condensation. Whether it is the difference in amount of use, the cloth wipe-down vs water bottle, or some other factor (maybe CF outers are "thirsty" and soak up the product) contributing to the difference in application frequency between slide types, I don't know.

I've been using a micro fiber cloth for application of the product, and storing it in a ziplock bag between uses. I've found that the cloth gets saturated pretty quickly, but stored in a sealed bag, the product doesn't dry out on the cloth. So, once the cloth reaches a certain level of saturation, I don't need to add more liquid from the bottle - I just wipe the inners dry with a clean cloth and then give the stockings a quick pass with the saturated SimpleCoat cloth, and... done. At the rate I've used it over the past 6 months, I'd guess that the bottle will last years, if not decades.

I was curious about wear over time. The only metal-on-metal slide I have in rotation is on my alto, and I don't play it as much as I do tenor and bass. I haven't spotted any signs of wear so far, but 6 months isn't a lot of time in which to judge that. I'll give it longer before speculating on the protective nature of the product for metal slides, but so far it isn't an immediate "no".

No idea on the material safety... they claim it is "food safe and non-toxic". I couldn't really attest one way or another to that claim. I haven't grown any extra eyes, ears, etc. while using it, but I'm also not in the habit of licking my slide, and my days of marching and high-angle horn flashes to the box are well behind me, so no risk of condensation carrying product back into my mouth.

Thank you Mike, for sharing your findings. It’s very helpful and much appreciated.

Best regards,

John

[heldenbone]

Reviving this thread *and* leading it astray a bit...

I have been using SimpleCoat to protect the inside of the leadpipe and tuning slide on some trumpets that are my preferred "players" despite their ages, with good results. The instruments in question are Zig Kanstul's revivals of the F. Besson, made in the early 80s and still showing no red rot due to frequent use of a Brass Saver through the pipe and slide, and treatment of those parts internally with SimpleCoat to seal the natural porosity of brass. One is lacquered brass (Brevete), the other silver plate (Meha). Every 6 months or so seems adequate.