TromboneChat

I have hit just about ever Youtube on trombone cleaning I can find. Only one has recommended spraying the cleaning cloth with WD40 when swabbing out the the outer slide tubes. But, that one was done by a fellow that appears to be both experienced and competent.




One the one hand, using a little WD40 as a cleaner makes sense to me. And the fellow recommending does appear to be a fellow that knows his way around a trombone repair shop.

On the other hand, I have encountered no mention of using WD40 as a trombone cleaner anywhere else.

Comments on using WD40 (per the video) to clean the outer slide?

I always use rubbing alcohol or brass polish if there is oxidation.

I'd imagine you'd have to swab the heck out of that outer slide to get all the petroleum out. Most trombone slide lubricants do not mix well with petroleum-derived products. Plus I wouldn't want to breathe those vapors for an extended period of time. I'll stick with dry cloth around a metal stick.

There are a number of things in this video that I do differently on my horns. 1, He recommends using WD 40 on a cloth on a cleaning rod in both the inner and outer slides. He should at least mention the risks of using a cloth in the inner slide. And he mentions the importance of being careful with the rod in the outer, but does not fold the cloth over the tip. Also, the cloth is too short to keep a grip on the end so it does not wad up. Finally, I just wouldn't use WD40 in my slide because of the smell. (Although it probably wouldn't hurt it. And it may be a good way to keep the slide protected when storing a horn for an extended period of time)
And the cleaning snake, run dry, through the outer? Ouch! And loosening up crud in the crook without washing it out? Not on my horn! And I just don't get the purpose of that little "tube brush" for removing corrosion, seems silly.
Basically, A "thumbs down" for me.

WD 40 might not be as unpallatable as you think, did you know that anglers, particularly Carp fisherman and Sea Anglers in general, sometimes spray their bait with WD 40 to make it more attractive and more palatable to the fish? Its true and it works! I have no idea what relevance that has to the topic but thought it was interesting if nothing else!

I hope no beginners watch this video. I think the chances of them NOT doing some damage are zero.

I don't know about WD40. I use soap and water, but I can see the argument for that, or for Hoppes #9, etc.

But why cut cloth to 20 inches, and take the chance of it slipping off inside a slide? Cut it to 40, and you can hang on to it. And be careful about hitting the slide bow? You measure the length, and place your hand such that hour swabbing hand hits the thumb of your holding hand, and there is no possibility of going too far.

It's obvious even in the hands of an expert that there is a lot of sideways pressure from the rod to the slide tube. I would never run a rod through an inner slide, and never run a brush through an inner slide unless the inner is inside the outer so it is protected from side pressure. And yes, as a beginner I did run a rod through the inner, very very carefully, and still sprung the slide a little.

LoL, at 1:45 ! Holding the slide at an angle by only the stocking.

Nope! NopeNopeNopeNopeNope!

This gentleman seems like a nice guy who runs a small music shop. He's probably brought a lot of joy to the kids in band in his town. He also doesn't seem to know how to handle or care for a slide. It's probably OK since that horn looks like an overbuilt "children trombone alto/tenor Bb" that comes with the sacred white gloves of power.

"Before you spray water, open your slide up almost all the way and lay it out at a 45 degree angle on a table until the inner tubes visibly bend. If your slide action is still slow or scratchy, you probably damaged your slide..."

If it's on YouTube it must be true? Go for it. WD40 FTW JKLOL

I always thought WD-40 was based on " Fish Oil" --- NOT petroleum. Anybody else have the same impression ?
The thing that freaked me out was when he wiped off the inners with the large cloth by holding the OPPOSITE leg of the slide as he did the wiping of the other leg [and achieved a slide mis-alignment in the process]. Hearing the clatter of that cleaning rod as it banged its way along the leadpipe was an experience I will not repeat on any of my horns. Then again, if it was on the Internet it must be correct ----
I once had a well-meaning tech use hypoid gear oil on my tuning slides. Since it was designed to "creep" and coat every surface, it managed to gradually find its way from the tuning slides to my valves which instantly became totally inoperable. Only a chemical cleaning [on the tech's dime] was able to get the instrument back to normal. It doesn't cost much more to use products designed for the specific purpose of servicing our precious instruments. Those folks have already done the R&D necessary to assure a good result. Just sayin' ------

WD-40 MSDS shows it to be a mixture of hydrocarbons with a surfactant. So it's not a fish oil; it's petroleum.

I've used it on machinery a lot and it works nicely as a lubricant. The fact that the surfactant could be hydrophobic (water hating) may enhance the "water bead" model of slide lubrication. Also, if there are pores in the brass it will seal them (which is good).

As to bad smell, the volatiles won't last long and it should go away pretty quickly. I don't remember my machinery smelling of WD-40 after a day.

I don't know if Hoppe's 9 oil works the same way. I did find it to be pretty good as a spindle lubricant for the F-attachment on my Mirage trombone.

timothy42b wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2019 6:44 am

It's obvious even in the hands of an expert that there is a lot of sideways pressure from the rod to the slide tube. I would never run a rod through an inner slide, and never run a brush through an inner slide unless the inner is inside the outer so it is protected from side pressure.

My underscore.

FYI getting the wd40 out of the slide isn't easy. If you clean the side with a rag and GOOP hand cleaner (made to surround and remove oils like wd40 - used by many mechanics to wash their hands) you will get almost all the wd40 out. Follow that with Dawn dish washing liquid and a cleaning snake, and all the wd40 will be removed along with the crap it was trying to get out. If you don't get the wd40 out of your slide you will be miserable.

You can also use Marvel Mystery Oil like you would use the wd40 and get similar results, but you MUST get all the cleaners, oil, whatever, our of the slide before you lube it to play it or you will be miserable!

If you want to clean the inside of your outer slide get some domestic kettle de-scaler and mix it up per the instructions and pour it in and let it sit for a while , may be an hour or two.

Flush through with warm water and a mild detergent taking care to thoroughly brush out the end crook then carefully swab out repeatedly with a cleaning rod and cloth until no residue is showing on the material.

You might find the slide is a bit scratchy at first as this takes all the 'crud' out of all the nooks and crannies so could take a few lubes to settle in again.


BellEnd