Looking for nice, thick grease

[Alex Reeder]

I recently bought my first C tuba, a Getzen G50 with a York bell. It is great, but I am having an unusual (I think) problem. My main tuning slide is way too loose and free. If it is out at all, it slowly slips down over the course of my playing.
At Baltimore Brass, Dave Fedderly opened up the inside slide for me a little, and muscled the slide a little to stress it outwards for more friction. But it still is too loose. He told me to take off the outside slide and pull the sides away from each other more if is was still too loose, but that makes me nervous!
What I would rather do is find some real sticky, thick slide grease to use on that slide. Can anyone reccomend a good choice?
Also, I would try Vaseline, but someone once told me that is not good because it hardens and turns green or something. True?

[Chuck(G)]

The old-timer's solution is anhydrous lanolin--sticky and thick enough to bog down an H2 in low gear. Some druggists carry it and you can also find it at places that sell supplies for soapmakers. Whatever you do, get the anhydrous stuff, not the hydrated stuff.

Thin it with valve oil to get the right consistency.

Or take your horn to a good repair tech and have him expand the ends of the inner slide tubing slightly so it fits snugly.

[Dan Schultz]

Alex,

DON'T use Vasoline on your slides as it eventually forms a hard coat and your slide might seize altogether. Also, don't mess with the alignment of your slide. All that does is shift all the clearance to one side and will eventually cause you even more problems. A good tech with the proper tools can expand your inner tubes to make a good fit. For slides I like to use a product made by the Locktite/Permatex folks called 'Superlube'. It's a clear thick synthetic grease with excellent lubrication properties. It can be found at an industrial supply house that deals with bearings and lubricants. Auto parts stores might also have it.

[DonShirer]

Lube-Gel, a synthetic grease available at Radio Shack stores, works fine for me and is inexpensive.

[cjk]

I know two guys with G50s and both of them have problems with slides creeping out.

I'd try one of two things:
-- STP oil treatment
-- Hetmans ULTRA SLIDE GREASE


The Hetmans is really thick and sticky. It reminds me of that yellow goop that people use to stick up posters.