Chrome wear

[Elow]

So, i bought an olds o-25 and i love how it sounds, but there’s a lot of chrome wear, and the action is pretty good, but the slide is soooo noisy. Any way to help lessen the noise, i’m using trombotine and it’s still a good bit loud.

[BGuttman]

I usually polish the wear spots until they are bright. Then I put a dab of Trombotine directly on the wear spots and rub it in. Then I lube the slide like normal.

One thing to check: are the edges of the wear spots sharp or smooth. If they are sharp you need to sand them down. Sharp edges are an indication that the chrome plating on the inners is bad and the inners need to be replaced.

[JohnL]

Worn chrome is one thing; flaking chrome is another. Flaking is usually time for new tubes (good luck finding a set with the right bore and the right stocking size; I ended up with Bach 50 inners).

If it's worn chrome, definitely polish the stockings. I've had good success with brass wool. Takes off the corrosion but won't touch whatever chrome is left.

Stockings wear for a reason; usually misaligned and/or crooked tubes and/or mineral buildup on the ID of the outer tubes. If either of those conditions are still present on your O-25, that could be part of you noise problem.

[Posaunus]

It's almost always worth it to have the slide straightened and aligned by an expert slide tech (probably not the guy at your local music store). My O-25, with just a tiny spot of wear at the end of the stocking, is smooth as silk.

Good luck. The Olds O-25 is a fun horn - not quite like any other I've played.

[Doug Elliott]

Olds trombones were made so well in so many ways, but they seem to typically have more chrome wear than any other horns. Why is that?

My Recording that was my first trombone as a kid, was only about 8-10 years when I got it and it already had wear spots on both stockings. It's rare to see a Recording or any Olds without worn chrome.

[Elow]

I had to put the outer slide back together because it was broke at like literally every joint. I had to straighten one tube and the other was good. The action is like really good, almost as good as my shires, but any movement is just so loud. I could probably just send it to the slide doctor, i just wasn’t sure if the noise was from the chrome wear or nkt

[BGuttman]

Try the polishing first. If it's still bad then look at Slide Doctor.

Also, since you have been busy heating up the outer slide, make sure you polish the inside of it well and put on some extra lube.

I had an Ambassador with F from Los Angeles when I was a kid and I sometimes had to slater the inner slide with cold cream, work it in, let it sit overnight, then clean off the excess cold cream and relube. Make the thing work acceptably.

[Elow]

It could probably benefit from a chem clean too, how should i go about polishing inner slide? I always just use cheesecloth until it’s too hot to hold but i bet there’s a better way

[Bonearzt]

It could probably benefit from a chem clean too, how should i go about polishing inner slide? I always just use cheesecloth until it’s too hot to hold but i bet there’s a better way

No need to polish the interior of the inner tubes, only the outers.
The exterior of the inner tubes need the polish job, preferably with a cotton wheel and chrome compound.

Depending on the condition of the base tube, replating "MIGHT" be an option.
But the tubes MUST be free of any waviness or dents, and no corrosion!!

[Elow]

I meant the inside of the outer slides, i will attempt this next time i work.

[BGuttman]

For a one-time application, you could use the cleaning rod and cheesecloth with Brasso. Remember to clean VERY thoroughly after you finish working in the Brasso to get rid of all the abrasive. Once the outer slide is clean, make sure to use a little extra Trombotine for the first lube, work it in well, clean everything off, and do a proper lube. This helps fill the pores in the metal with lube.