Best slide lube for close tolerances?

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Bach5G
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Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Bach5G »

Maybe my Yam bass is too well built. Best slide lube for close tolerances?
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BGuttman
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by BGuttman »

Look into the silicone oils: Slide-O-Mix, Rapid Comfort, UltraPure, and especially Yamaha.
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Bach5G
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Bach5G »

Thx Bruce.
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WilliamLang
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by WilliamLang »

definitely silicone oils, i'd be personally surprised if yamaha doesn't work the best, in my humble opinion.

good luck!
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by sporto »

Yamaha!
Vegasbound
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Vegasbound »

I prefer Yamaha
Bach5G
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Bach5G »

Maybe I just need a new bottle of Yamaha.
Posaunus
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Posaunus »

I only use Yamaha slide lube on my 2003 Yamaha YBL-421G bass. Don't know about close tolerances, but the slide is fantastic. This is a happy marriage!

[just don't expose your lubricant to high temperatures – it will deteriorate. :( ]
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by GabrielRice »

You probably do need a new bottle of Yamaha. Slides with close tolerances also have less margin for error, so if it's dirty or there's anything off about the alignment you will feel it immediately.

I have actually ditched the Yamaha stuff after about 15 years. I've been using just Trombotine + water lately - on my close tolerance Shires slides. The key is to put a fairly generous amount onto the stockings and work it onto the insides of the outer tubes multiple times, wiping off the inners in between.
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harrisonreed
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by harrisonreed »

If you use Yamaha stuff, shake the crap out of it each time you use it!
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Geordie
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Geordie »

harrisonreed wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 8:33 pm If you use Yamaha stuff, shake the crap out of it each time you use it!
Which got me wondering ... Do these various lubes ever lose/diminish their lubricating characteristics if kept at room temperature over time?
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harrisonreed
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by harrisonreed »

Geordie wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:30 am
harrisonreed wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 8:33 pm If you use Yamaha stuff, shake the crap out of it each time you use it!
Which got me wondering ... Do these various lubes ever lose/diminish their lubricating characteristics if kept at room temperature over time?
Yamaha seems to lose its goodness if keep in a really hot or really cold car.
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JohnL
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by JohnL »

harrisonreed wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:41 pmYamaha seems to lose its goodness if keep in a really hot or really cold car.
Not sure about cold, but heat certainly causes problems.
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Geordie
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Geordie »

JohnL wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:57 pm
harrisonreed wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:41 pmYamaha seems to lose its goodness if keep in a really hot or really cold car.
Not sure about cold, but heat certainly causes problems.
Yes, I’ve noticed the impact of extreme heat. I was trying to ask if, assuming they are kept at reasonable temperatures, these lubes ever expire/go off after a while so they are no longer useful.
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BGuttman
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by BGuttman »

I doubt they would last for storage over decades, but I wouldn't worry over the course of a year or two.
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harrisonreed
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by harrisonreed »

I was trying to say that if you don't shake it like crazy every time you use it, the first few times will be absolutely beyond amazing, and then after a while, you'll have used all the goodness up and all that's left is like soap.
tbonesullivan
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by tbonesullivan »

I know that Edwards has very close tolerances in their slides, and they recommend trombotine.

My Yamaha bass loves super slick. The trick is to never use too much. If you can see the super slick on the inner slide after application, that's too much.
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bassclef
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by bassclef »

harrisonreed wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:41 pm Yamaha seems to lose its goodness if keep in a really hot or really cold car.
I haven't experienced any ill effects from cold, but hot - definitely.

You may already know this trick, but if your bottle ever does separate from being in a hot car - put it in the fridge overnight, give it a shake = good as new.
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Cotboneman
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Cotboneman »

For many years I've used a product out of Germany, Reka, which is a thin silicon based lubricant for my Getzen bass, which always had a very tight slide. But after 25 years the slide has some nickel silver wear on the lower stocking and the Reka was proving to be not as effective as it had been. I switched this Spring to the Yamaha lubricant, with some excellent results. The slide is now moving well again, and quietly. The horn will be due for a slide overhaul eventually; this product buys me some time and saves me a little money in the short run.
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paulyg
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by paulyg »

tbonesullivan wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:30 am I know that Edwards has very close tolerances in their slides, and they recommend trombotine.
Did this change at some point? I always thought that Edwards slides had very LOOSE tolerances, because the action stays quite a bit better that way.
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ArbanRubank
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by ArbanRubank »

My Yamahas pretty much don't need any lube. But I think it is better to not use them dry. So I squirt a bottle of Yamaha mix into a pint spray bottle and just give my slides a little spritz after cleaning them thoroughly.
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harrisonreed
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by harrisonreed »

paulyg wrote: Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:35 pm
tbonesullivan wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:30 am I know that Edwards has very close tolerances in their slides, and they recommend trombotine.
Did this change at some point? I always thought that Edwards slides had very LOOSE tolerances, because the action stays quite a bit better that way.
No idea. My Edwards side took FOREVER to break in. The sound is worth it, but the slide was not as good of an action as my Eastlake 88H...

I think it was because of a very tight fit.
Pre59
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Pre59 »

I end up throwing away all silicone mixes before they get to the end of the bottle, and that's even when adding ball bearings to maintain the best balance of ingredients when shaking the product. There's a bottle of Yamaha heading that that way now, with a usable amount left. It seems to get thinner as the volume decreases no matter what.
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Re: Best slide lube for close tolerances?

Post by Driswood »

bassclef wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:05 pm
harrisonreed wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:41 pm Yamaha seems to lose its goodness if keep in a really hot or really cold car.
I haven't experienced any ill effects from cold, but hot - definitely.

You may already know this trick, but if your bottle ever does separate from being in a hot car - put it in the fridge overnight, give it a shake = good as new.
I keep my Yamasnot in the refrigerator, per advice from Sam Burtis. Stays together, doesn't separate.
DON'T leave it in a hot car!!!!
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