mlynch

Hello to all. Here's what's going on:

I recently traded in my Kanstul signature series horn for a Flip Oakes Wild Thing. I've been playing the WT for a couple of days and decided that it was time to grease the slides. For all of the slides, I took some Selmer slide grease (the red stuff) and applied a little on each slide. I then moved each slide back and forth while re-inserting. Even if I'm conservative with the amount of slide grease that I put on, I still end with an overflow of grease when the slides are pushed fully back in. I wiped off the overage with a tissue and then used my silver cleaning cloth to clean things a little more. I did that last night. This morning things looked crappy, so I spayed down the horn with Haggerty's cleaning polish and I've been through 3 cleaning rags. My wife says that my time would be better spent cleaning her van. She's probably right, but I would never admit it. Rather, I indicated that lessons regarding van care might be learned from how I treat my WT. Needless to say, I'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight.

Long story short, all I wanted to do was put some slide grease on my horn and it's turned in to a drawn-out fiasco.

I use Blue Juice valve oil on my valves. Would I be better off using the valve oil and the 1st and 3rd triggers? Is there a trick? Is the problem with the Selmer slide grease? Is there a better brand or is the problem with me? Could my wife actually be right about me being an idiot?

As mentioned earlier, I'm a comeback player. Back in high school, I didn't care too much about this stuff. This is the first time in my life that I've actually been able to afford a good horn. I don't want to set myself up to clean the family van every time I want to grease my slides....and my sofa is not too comfortable either.

Please help,
Mike

bandman

It sounds to me like your next purchase should be a futon. They sleep better than a sofa and the way they sit is a little firmer than a sofa (which I personally find more comfortable when I play my horn).

Give your wife a $20 bill and send her to the car wash! Tell her she can even pick the fancy little scent they spray in your car after they wash it! Your van might smell like baby powder but you can play your horn all you want while she's at the carwash!!!

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tpter1

Hmmm...lemme see. What kind of quilt do you have for your couch? Pillows? Satellite TV or Cable?

I use valve oil on slides 1 & 3. I just switched over to Ultra Pure, and got the greases as well. Before using a different grease or oil, be sure to clean off and dry before applying new lubricant.

I also use a cloth (believe it or not, cloth diapers are the best) to remove excess grease from both the outside of the slide and from the tubing that goes inside the slide. That prevents dust/grime build-up on the exposed slide area, and the grease is on the INSIDE of the slide.

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-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

Solar Bell

Lessons regarding wife care might be learned from how you treat your WT!

Long stemmed roses are nice, and jewelry usually works well.

Make sure you get the matching ear rings.

-cw-

ps

PM John Sheets!

On second thought.............

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan

trtplyrdm

Well I used to use Selmer grease(mine was red, not sure about yours) and I had the same problem. Once the excess got on my jorn it turned a blackish color and was terribly hard to get off.I asked my director and he said "The best grease is shilke, although anything with Lanolin will help." So I went out and bought some. There is no excess black stuff and it lasts a lot longer. Hope this helps. :)

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"Playing the trumpet is simple, not easy, Simple"~Jimmy Stamp

B15M

The Selmer red stuff is good for the main and second slide. On the first and third I use trombone slide grease.

I don't use the Selmer stuff any more but it did work. I got straight lanolin with my trumpet but I didn't really like it so I just tried Ultra Pure. It's too new to recommend but the oil is so good I had to try the slide grease.

Brassmonkey

A local repair man turned me on to STP motor oil treatment many years ago. It's not esy to wash off your fingers but it lasts a long time on the slides and doesn't break down very fast. While initially making the 1st & 3rd slides very slow it loosen's up nicely with a drop or two of valve oil. With a little experimentation you'll have them working exactly the way you want them. Sounds weird but it's worked for me for years. It's cheap too. A quart of the stuff will literally last you a lifetime!

A.N.A. Mendez

2 hardest things to learn in marriage, when to listen to your wife...And, when to NOT listen to your wife. Those that figure or guess correctly seem to be the happiest.....But don't let that get in your way...

"My wife and I were happy for 22 years, then we got married" Henny Youngman?

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(Above) Alexanders ragtime band-circa 1960

"Baby, I'm already the coolest, and the hippist, now you want me to be on time too?" Buddy Love

"We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and our best generals to edit our newspapers." Robert E. Lee

mlynch

Sorry that I've been away from the site for so long. As you might have guessed, I've been outside washing the family van

Wow, lots of good advice re: slide grease and life. Where else could such diverse issues be addressed all at once? The TM site is great!

Sounds like I'm not the only one out there who had issues with the Selmer red slide grease. I'll steer away from that and probably start using valve oil on the 1st and third valve slides and I'll go with something else for the others. That stuff works well, but it's too messy.

All kidding aside, I'm married to a saint....18 years of wedded bliss and counting (along with a bunch of jewelry and flowers). All is well, and no couch for tonight.

I'm still interested in hearing any more advice on good solutions for slide grease. All comments have been warmly welcomed and much appreciated.

Best regards,
Mike

MJ

Get some stuff from http://www.ultrapureoils.com and don't look back. That red stuff is junk!

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