Superslick Seems to Have Gone Bad

[DaveGraf]

I bought a couple bottles of Superslick silicone lubricant, I don't know, within the past three years. Lately, I went to use them and it seemed like the product had become more viscous. When I put in on my slide, instead of spreading around smoothly, it seemed to kind of glop up. Sprayed it down with water and put the slide back together to see what would happen and it was all sticky. I thought maybe I had failed to wipe off all the wetted down Trombotine before applying the drops, so I wiped all surfaces down carefully and took swabbed out the inner slide and started over. Same result! I had to wipe everything down again and reapply Trombotine without the silicone drops to get a decently working slide.
I've had bottles of this stuff that I've kept around for years, and have never encountered this problem before. You can even see, tipping the bottle back and forth, that the liquid inside moves mores slowly than it should, and it feels thicker and kinda gummy between the fingers.
Does Superslick go bad? Did I just get a bum batch? It has been stored at room temperature, except for rare occasions where my horn is in the trunk on a hot day in preparation for a later gig, but I've done that for years (much more often in the past, when there was more work) and never had a problem like this.
Any ideas?

[mbtrombone]

Maybe they reformulated and it can’t sit that long anymore. I have a bottle from maybe 2002 and the cap got brittle and broke. I still have it and it isn’t thick. I just use it for one horn that I play once every couple of years so I don’t use superslick and the additive very often anymore. But I also still have two containers of superslick and two of Conn formula 3.

[tbonesullivan]

Bottle? I remember there being a container that had the super slick, and then a small little dropper bottle of clear silicone type stuff.

Mine like refuses to die, though if you get it too hot it will melt and separate.

[gbedinger]

I’ll post a response here too, since I can’t help myself. I purchased a batch of Conn Superslick and Formula 3 drops in 1974.

Except for a 20 year hiatus, I used it until 2019, when I misplaced it in a move. At that time I switched to the Yamaha lubricant. Both solutions last and when they start deteriorating, you have plenty of warning. The Superslick/Formula 3 set a high bar and the Yamaha lubricant held its own.

I cannot speak for anything made since 1975 (Pond’s Cold Cream went downhill about this time) but I did find it after moving, and it’s still stable. Good Stuff!

[CharlieB]

The only problem I've had with my Superslick in the white plastic bottles is that after about twelve years the bottles are apt to get brittle and crack. The product inside never gets gummy. Your Superslick is in a clear plastic bottle.

On the Internet, I see that the "same" Superslick liquid is offered by some vendors in white plastic bottles, and by other vendors in clear plastic bottles. ???????? That makes me wonder about manufacturing copycats.

[OneTon]

There are companies that take whatever is delivered to them in 55 gallon drums or pallet sized tanks and bottle it on contract. These companies may be using up bottle inventory or experiencing bottle supply problems. Considering the market size for slide lubricants, it is not likely that there is much of a counterfeit black market. The sticky wicket problems could stem from improperly cleaned storage barrels and tanks, or bottling equipment, or mixing up a bad batch. There often is one or more attempts to remedy a bad batch rather than dispose of it.

[tbonesullivan]

There are companies that take whatever is delivered to them in 55 gallon drums or pallet sized tanks and bottle it on contract. These companies may be using up bottle inventory or experiencing bottle supply problems. Considering the market size for slide lubricants, it is not likely that there is much of a counterfeit black market. The sticky wicket problems could stem from improperly cleaned storage barrels and tanks, or bottling equipment, or mixing up a bad batch. There often is one or more attempts to remedy a bad batch rather than dispose of it.

Very true. I have found that with just about all of Slide-O-Mix formulations, I rarely can get to the end of a container before it goes on me, even with the two part. I have much better luck with trombotine and super slick, but I also can't get the same level of super fast slide with the creams.

[tbonesullivan]

Yeah, so I just started using my tenor trombones again after playing only bass for a few years, and one bottle of Slide O Mix rapid comfort is still kinda gooey, while the other is almost like water. The first works great, and the second is pretty much useless as a lubricant. The same thing happens with the large bottle of the two part. Once it goes, it's gone.