Re: Re: Sandpaper on slides


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Posted by Jay is 100% correct on May 16, 1999 at 11:36:52:

In Reply to: Re: Sandpaper on slides posted by Jay Bertolet on May 16, 1999 at 07:56:42:

Instead of worrying about you going too far with the sandpaper or steelwool, I should have thought of this in the first place. (sorry!) Go buy some LAVA SOAP. Make a heavy lather after wetting the bar. Distribute the LAVA soap lather all over both tubes and then start moving the slide in and out (I don't have to get graphic, right?) It will get harder and harder to move as the water evaporates from the lather. You can add more lather, or add a tiny bit of oil to the lather. You may have to work with this for a few minutes, and don't get carried away and remove TOO MUCH slide material. (A couple of complete clean-ups and "trials" are appropriate.) LAVA soap is FULL of tiny ground up pieces of pumice that are of an appropriately small size for this purpose, and LAVA soap is readily available.

All of Jay's advice, comments, and procedures may be combined with mine, as some of mine are redundant to his, and all of his are correct.

Thank-you, Jay, for the correct answer.

Pumice powder, as a medium, is just fine to mix up with a carrier and use the way that Jay suggested. If you do acquire straight pumice powder, you should take great care to protect your lungs from inhaling it.

When you have tried your slide and are satisfied with the results, clean the insides out COMPLETELY with hot water (or hot water and detergent, if oil was added), and make sure that you get that junk completely out of the valve casing(s?), too. (Please remove the valves ahead of time, even if they are rotors, which take more time.) You might even want to stuff the connected valve casing with a paper towel, to keep that junk from going everywhere.

*****My original recommendations about making sure that you don't have other interfering problems still holds.*****


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