I'm new to playing trombone and purchased a brand new Xeno It was recommended by the store's tech where I bought to use liquid dish detergent in warm water. I've seen Yamaha Brass Soap advertised online and would appreciate feedback as to whether you all prefer one over the other or if it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. Thanks.
As a repair tech, I can tell you that cleaning your slide with lacquer thinner is the way to go. It's a great solvent and won't remove your lacquer. Put it on some cheese cloth, and work it in and out of the slide, keeping it good and tight in there, as to get all the dirt.
The juxtaposition of "lacquer thinner" and "won't remove your lacquer" is a bit jarring and incompatible with much empirical observation and warnings from a variety of sources. It may depend on what you mean by "lacquer" or what kind of "lacquer" you mean. I wouldn't use it around any of my instrument finishes. Of course, I'm not a repair tech.
Lacquer thinner will 100% strip the Lacquer right off most Bach trombones and other instruments made during the 20th century. I'm not sure when they stopped using Cellulose Lacquer, but it wasn't until relatively recently.
David S. - daveyboy37 from TTF
Bach 39, LT36B, 42BOF & 42T, King 2103 / 3b, Kanstul 1570CR & 1588CR, Yamaha YBL-612 RII, YBL-822G & YBL-830, Sterling 1056GHS Euphonium,
Livingston Symphony Orchestra NJ - Trombone
I won't take the risk, but one of the best techs I know carefully cleans and polishes the inside of outer slides with lacquer thinner. And successfully gets away with it. [Perhaps not on Bach slides? ]
Posaunus wrote: ↑Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:41 pm
... one of the best techs I know carefully cleans and polishes the inside of outer slides with lacquer thinner. ]
Well, there's the key, and sign of a rational approach -- rather than "Don't worry, it can't harm your lacquer". Still, there are less toxic, less risky, and no less effective alternatives. So why use it? I mean, I have about half a gallon of MEK in my barn, but I almost never use it because there are almost always alternatives that are better practical choices. I also don't use hydrochloric acid to clean my rotary valves, though I might do that as a matter of course if I were in the business of cleaning rotary valves as part of doing chem cleans on customers' instruments -- because under those circumstances there would be additional justifications for doing that.
Edit: corrected reference to hydrochloric acid.
Last edited by ghmerrill on Fri Dec 29, 2023 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BGuttman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 29, 2023 9:04 pm
>hydraulic acid
Which one is that?
Mea culpa ... (I won't go with the usual excuse here that it was an auto-correcting spell checker that did it.)
Age - related brain malfunction. I spent so much time this past year rebuilding the hydraulic system on my 1974 tractor that that's still embedded in my brain.
I of course meant "hydrochloric" (or "muriatic" for a somewhat different crowd).
Just as there are "lacquers", and there are lacquers, there are also "lacquer thinners" and lacquer thinners. They aren't all the same!! I use Cleanstrip Green lacquer thinners to clean the inside of slide tubes after polishing the new tubes. It very effectively removes grease from brass, and flashes off very quickly, with zero residue, but that product is much "milder" than the lacquer thinner I use to actually thin my lacquer made by Niklas! The Niklas baked on epoxy lacquer is completely impervious to the Cleanstrip product. Shires also use the Cleanstrip Green in their slide cleaning routine with all new slides, FWIW.
Matthew Walker
Owner/Craftsman, M&W Custom Trombones, LLC, Jackson, Wisconsin.
Former Bass Trombonist, Opera Australia, 1991-2006
Dish soap= washing up liquid.
Use a 'snake' brush, quite cheap and easily available.
A slide o mix cleaning rod with towelling sheath is very useful. Not so cheap, can be obtained on line eg Dawkes, blue for wide bore, red for medium/ small.
For a clean slide, I'd say go for a lukewarm bath with some dish soap, and snake out the insides of the slides, just like the others have said.
However, for a FAST slide, you'll wanna get a cleaning rod with either a cleaning sheath or cheese cloth and use that. I've been doing this for a couple years now and it's never failed me. Burgerbob has a great video tutorial on YouTube about how to do it properly, so I'd check that out.
I'm a little wary of "snakes" and their stiff brushes and the potential for damage (or at least some mild scratching) of tubing inner surfaces. I prefer to use the HWP Brass-Saver (soft pull-through brush with a long plastic lead ribbon – will pass through the entire outer slide, including the end crook!). I use the "Tuba" size for large-bore tenor and bass trombones. No chance whatsoever of damage - and you know the slide crook is open and free. I even pull my Brass-Saver though my trombone's bell section (including F-attachment valve).
The Brass-Saver is an integral part of my regular post-playing trombone hygiene protocol. Because I keep them clean, it's only VERY seldom that my trombones need baths.
Benefect Atomic Degreaser works great, and it is safe to use. The downside is that it is sold by the gallon, and costs about $40. A lifetime+ supply for a trombonist, especially since it can be diluted with water and still be effective. However, most will probably find other uses for it.
Mamaposaune wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 9:34 am
Benefect Atomic Degreaser works great, and it is safe to use. The downside is that it is sold by the gallon, and costs about $40. A lifetime+ supply for a trombonist, especially since it can be diluted with water and still be effective. However, most will probably find other uses for it.
What's the benefit of a "degreaser" on a trombone slide?
IMHO, there's NO reason for the average Trombonist to use anything stronger than regular dish soap!!!
The costs involved and associated risks are not worth the possibility of f.. errr mucking up your slide!
A cleaning rod with cheesecloth, flexible snake for the crook and inner tubes are plenty sufficient for typical maintenance. Even just plain water from the hose with the pressure nozzle works wonders!
Anything more than that warrants a trip to a Tech!!
Eric Edwards
Professional Instrument Repair
972.795.5784
"If you must choose between two evils, choose the one you haven't tried yet."
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud." -Sophocles
where I bought to use liquid dish detergent in warm water. I've seen Yamaha Brass Soap advertised online and would appreciate feedback as to whether you all prefer one over the other or if it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. Thanks. 
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