diff --git a/packages/troika-3d-text/src/facade/SelectionRangeRect.js b/packages/troika-3d-text/src/facade/SelectionRangeRect.js
index fc46b67a..eace2acb 100644
--- a/packages/troika-3d-text/src/facade/SelectionRangeRect.js
+++ b/packages/troika-3d-text/src/facade/SelectionRangeRect.js
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ if (rad != 0.0) {
 `
     }
   )
-  material.instanceUniforms = ['rect', 'depthAndCurveRadius', 'diffuse']
   const meshes = {
     normal: new Mesh(
       new BoxBufferGeometry(1, 1, 1).translate(0.5, 0.5, 0.5),
diff --git a/packages/troika-3d-ui/src/facade/UIBlockLayer3DFacade.js b/packages/troika-3d-ui/src/facade/UIBlockLayer3DFacade.js
index 66a77424..615eddbc 100644
--- a/packages/troika-3d-ui/src/facade/UIBlockLayer3DFacade.js
+++ b/packages/troika-3d-ui/src/facade/UIBlockLayer3DFacade.js
@@ -59,13 +59,6 @@ class UIBlockLayer3DFacade extends Instanceable3DFacade {
       let mesh = instanceMeshesByKey.get(meshKey)
       if (!mesh) {
         let derivedMaterial = createUIBlockLayerDerivedMaterial(material)
-        derivedMaterial.instanceUniforms = [
-          'diffuse',
-          'uTroikaBlockSize',
-          'uTroikaClipRect',
-          'uTroikaCornerRadii',
-          'uTroikaBorderWidth'
-        ]
         derivedMaterial.polygonOffset = !!this.depthOffset
         derivedMaterial.polygonOffsetFactor = derivedMaterial.polygonOffsetUnits = this.depthOffset || 0
         // dispose the derived material when its base material is disposed:
diff --git a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/Instanceable3DFacade.js b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/Instanceable3DFacade.js
index 94f76211..b18259ec 100644
--- a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/Instanceable3DFacade.js
+++ b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/Instanceable3DFacade.js
@@ -24,25 +24,13 @@ import Object3DFacade from '../Object3DFacade.js'
  * uniforms such as colors to be varied per instance. This works with both custom
  * shader materials as well as the built-in materials.
  *
- * To enable per-instance uniforms:
+ * To enable per-instance uniforms, use the `setInstanceUniform(name, value)`
+ * method to set an instance's values for the enabled uniforms:
  *
- *   1) Declare which uniforms should be instanced by setting an `instanceUniforms`
- *   property on the `instancedThreeObject`'s material to an array of uniform names:
+ *     `this.setInstanceUniform('diffuse', new Color(color))`
  *
- *       `baseObj.material.instanceUniforms = ['diffuse', 'emissive']`
- *
- *   This typically only needs to be done once for each material. Note that for built-in
- *   materials, you must use the uniform names used internally by their shaders and
- *   not the more user-friendly material properties, for example use `'diffuse'` rather than
- *   `'color'` for controlling a `MeshBasicMaterial`'s color.
- *
- *   2) For each Instanceable3DFacade, use the `setInstanceUniform(name, value)`
- *   method to set that instance's values for the enabled uniforms:
- *
- *       `this.setInstanceUniform('diffuse', new Color(color))`
- *
- *   If an instance does not have a uniform value set this way, it will fall back to using
- *   the default value in the material's `uniforms` object.
+ * If an instance does not have a uniform value set this way, it will fall back to using
+ * the default value in the material's `uniforms` object.
  *
  * The uniform types that allow instancing are: `int`, `float`, `vec2`, `vec3`, and `vec4`.
  * Mapping from application value types such as `Vector2` or `Color` behaves similarly to
@@ -72,34 +60,47 @@ class Instanceable3DFacade extends Object3DFacade {
   }
 
   /**
+   * @property {Object3D} instancedThreeObject
    * Sets the Mesh instance to use for batching this instance with others that
    * reference the same Mesh.
    */
-  set instancedThreeObject(obj) {
-    if (obj !== this._instancedThreeObject) {
-      this._instancedThreeObject = obj
-      this.notifyWorld('instanceableChanged')
-      this._boundsChanged = true
-    }
-  }
-  get instancedThreeObject() {
-    return this._instancedThreeObject
-  }
 
   /**
-   * Sets this instance's value for a shader uniform. The uniform must also be declared
-   * as instanceable by setting `material.instanceUniforms = ['uniformName']`.
+   * Sets this instance's value for a shader uniform.
    * @param {String} name
    * @param {Number|Vector2|Vector3|Vector4|Color} value
    */
   setInstanceUniform(name, value) {
     let values = this._instanceUniforms || (this._instanceUniforms = Object.create(null))
     if (values[name] !== value) {
+      // If this is a new uniform value, add it to the Set of instance uniform names
+      const obj = this.instancedThreeObject
+      if (obj && !(name in values)) {
+        const names = obj._instanceUniformNames || (obj._instanceUniformNames = new Set())
+        names.add(name)
+      }
       values[name] = value
       this.notifyWorld('instanceableUniformChanged', name)
     }
   }
 
+  afterUpdate() {
+    const newObj = this.instancedThreeObject
+    const oldObj = this._instancedObj
+    if (newObj !== oldObj) {
+      if (newObj && this._instanceUniforms) { //make sure new object tracks our instance uniforms
+        const names = newObj._instanceUniformNames || (newObj._instanceUniformNames = new Set())
+        for (let name in this._instanceUniforms) {
+          names.add(name)
+        }
+      }
+      this._instancedObj = newObj
+      this.notifyWorld('instanceableChanged')
+      this._boundsChanged = true
+    }
+    super.afterUpdate()
+  }
+
   updateMatrices() {
     const prevMatrixVersion = this._worldMatrixVersion
 
diff --git a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingDerivedMaterial.js b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingDerivedMaterial.js
index ca668aa3..568e89c3 100644
--- a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingDerivedMaterial.js
+++ b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingDerivedMaterial.js
@@ -64,8 +64,7 @@ const CACHE = new WeakMap()
  * The result is cached by baseMaterial+instanceUniforms so we always get the same instance
  * back rather than getting a clone each time and having to re-upgrade every frame.
  */
-export function getInstancingDerivedMaterial(baseMaterial) {
-  let {instanceUniforms} = baseMaterial
+export function getInstancingDerivedMaterial(baseMaterial, instanceUniforms) {
   let instanceUniformsKey = instanceUniforms ? instanceUniforms.sort().join('|') : ''
   let derived = CACHE.get(baseMaterial)
   if (!derived || derived._instanceUniformsKey !== instanceUniformsKey) {
@@ -89,7 +88,7 @@ export function getInstancingDerivedMaterial(baseMaterial) {
  * attributes for the builtin matrix uniforms as well as any other uniforms that
  * have been declared as instanceable.
  */
-export function upgradeShaders(vertexShader, fragmentShader, instanceUniforms=[]) {
+export function upgradeShaders(vertexShader, fragmentShader, instanceUniforms) {
   // See what gets used
   let usesModelMatrix = modelMatrixRefRE.test(vertexShader)
   let usesModelViewMatrix = modelViewMatrixRefRE.test(vertexShader)
@@ -122,24 +121,26 @@ export function upgradeShaders(vertexShader, fragmentShader, instanceUniforms=[]
   }
 
   // Add attributes and varyings for, and rewrite references to, instanceUniforms
-  instanceUniforms.forEach(name => {
-    let vertType = vertexUniforms[name]
-    let fragType = fragmentUniforms[name]
-    if (vertType || fragType) {
-      let finder = new RegExp(`\\b${name}\\b`, 'g')
-      vertexDeclarations.push(`attribute ${vertType || fragType} troika_${name};`)
-      if (vertType) {
-        vertexShader = vertexShader.replace(finder, attrRefReplacer)
+  if (instanceUniforms) {
+    instanceUniforms.forEach(name => {
+      let vertType = vertexUniforms[name]
+      let fragType = fragmentUniforms[name]
+      if (vertType || fragType) {
+        let finder = new RegExp(`\\b${name}\\b`, 'g')
+        vertexDeclarations.push(`attribute ${vertType || fragType} troika_${name};`)
+        if (vertType) {
+          vertexShader = vertexShader.replace(finder, attrRefReplacer)
+        }
+        if (fragType) {
+          fragmentShader = fragmentShader.replace(finder, varyingRefReplacer)
+          let varyingDecl = `varying ${fragType} troika_vary_${name};`
+          vertexDeclarations.push(varyingDecl)
+          fragmentDeclarations.push(varyingDecl)
+          vertexAssignments.push(`troika_vary_${name} = troika_${name};`)
+        }
       }
-      if (fragType) {
-        fragmentShader = fragmentShader.replace(finder, varyingRefReplacer)
-        let varyingDecl = `varying ${fragType} troika_vary_${name};`
-        vertexDeclarations.push(varyingDecl)
-        fragmentDeclarations.push(varyingDecl)
-        vertexAssignments.push(`troika_vary_${name} = troika_${name};`)
-      }
-    }
-  })
+    })
+  }
 
   // Inject vertex shader declarations and assignments
   vertexShader = `
diff --git a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingManager.js b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingManager.js
index 24450b25..20c0ad58 100644
--- a/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingManager.js
+++ b/packages/troika-3d/src/facade/instancing/InstancingManager.js
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class InstancingManager extends Group3DFacade {
         if (protoObject && instanceObject.visible) {
           // Find or create the batch object for this facade's instancedThreeObject
           let batchKey = this._getBatchKey(protoObject)
-          let instanceUniforms = protoObject.material.instanceUniforms
+          let instanceUniforms = this._getInstanceUniformNames(protoObject)
           let batchObjects = batchObjectsByKey[batchKey] || (batchObjectsByKey[batchKey] = [])
           let batchObject = batchObjects[batchObjects.length - 1]
           let batchGeometry = batchObject && batchObject.geometry
@@ -202,8 +202,9 @@ class InstancingManager extends Group3DFacade {
     if (!this._needsRebatch) {
       let protoObject = facade.instancedThreeObject
       let batchObject = facade._instancingBatchObject
-      if (protoObject && batchObject && this._getBatchKey(protoObject) === this._getBatchKey(batchObject)) {
-        let attr = batchObject.geometry._instanceAttrs.uniforms[uniformName]
+      let attr
+      if (protoObject && batchObject && this._getBatchKey(protoObject) === this._getBatchKey(batchObject)
+        && (attr = batchObject.geometry._instanceAttrs.uniforms[uniformName])) {
         setAttributeValue(attr, facade._instancingBatchAttrOffset, facade._instanceUniforms[uniformName])
         attr.version++ //skip setter
       } else {
@@ -218,23 +219,34 @@ class InstancingManager extends Group3DFacade {
     let cache = this._batchKeysCache || (this._batchKeysCache = Object.create(null)) //cache results for duration of this frame
     let key = cache && cache[object.id]
     if (!key) {
-      let mat = object.material
-      let uniforms = mat.instanceUniforms
-      key = `${object.geometry.id}|${mat.id}|${uniforms ? uniforms.sort().join(',') : ''}`
+      let uniforms = this._getInstanceUniformNames(object)
+      key = `${object.geometry.id}|${object.material.id}|${uniforms ? uniforms.sort().join(',') : ''}`
       cache[object.id] = key
     }
     return key
   }
 
-  _getInstanceUniformSizes(material) {
+  _getInstanceUniformNames(object) {
+    let namesSet = object._instanceUniformNames
+    if (!namesSet) return null
+    let cache = this._uniformNamesCache || (this._uniformNamesCache = new Map())
+    let namesArray = cache.get(namesSet)
+    if (!namesArray) {
+      namesArray = Array.from(namesSet)
+      cache.set(namesSet, namesArray)
+    }
+    return namesArray
+  }
+
+  _getInstanceUniformSizes(material, uniformNames) {
     // Cache results per material for duration of this frame
     let cache = this._uniformSizesCache || (this._uniformSizesCache = new Map())
     let result = cache.get(material)
     if (!result) {
       result = Object.create(null)
-      if (material.instanceUniforms) {
-        material.instanceUniforms.forEach(name => {
-          let size = getUniformItemSize(material,  name)
+      if (uniformNames) {
+        uniformNames.forEach(name => {
+          let size = getUniformItemSize(material, name)
           if (size > 0) {
             result[name] = size
           } else {
@@ -255,12 +267,13 @@ class InstancingManager extends Group3DFacade {
       throw new Error('Instanceable proto object must use a BufferGeometry')
     }
     let batchKey = this._getBatchKey(instancedObject)
-    let uniformSizes = this._getInstanceUniformSizes(material)
+    let uniformNames = this._getInstanceUniformNames(instancedObject)
+    let uniformSizes = this._getInstanceUniformSizes(material, uniformNames)
     let batchGeometry = this._batchGeometryPool.borrow(batchKey, geometry, uniformSizes)
     setInstanceCount(batchGeometry, 0)
 
     // Upgrade the material to one with the shader modifications for instancing
-    let batchMaterial = getInstancingDerivedMaterial(material)
+    let batchMaterial = getInstancingDerivedMaterial(material, uniformNames)
     let depthMaterial, distanceMaterial
 
     // Create a new mesh object to hold it all
@@ -336,6 +349,7 @@ class InstancingManager extends Group3DFacade {
 
     // Clear caches from this render frame
     this._batchKeysCache = null
+    this._uniformNamesCache = null
     this._uniformSizesCache = null
 
     // Remove batch objects from scene
diff --git a/packages/troika-examples/bezier-3d/Bezier3DFacade.js b/packages/troika-examples/bezier-3d/Bezier3DFacade.js
index 3ac20a64..49b8ad3c 100644
--- a/packages/troika-examples/bezier-3d/Bezier3DFacade.js
+++ b/packages/troika-examples/bezier-3d/Bezier3DFacade.js
@@ -131,26 +131,9 @@ export class Bezier3DInstanceableFacade extends Instanceable3DFacade {
         mesh = new BezierMesh()
         mesh.castShadow = true //TODO - figure out how to control shadow casting
         mesh.material = material
-        mesh.material.instanceUniforms = this.getInstanceUniforms()
         instancingMeshes.set(material, mesh)
       }
       this.instancedThreeObject = mesh
     }
   }
-
-  getInstanceUniforms() {
-    return [
-      'pointA',
-      'controlA',
-      'controlB',
-      'pointB',
-      'radius',
-      'dashing',
-
-      // Set up instancing for material color and opacity by default; users can specify additional
-      // material-specific uniforms by extending and overriding. TODO - find a nicer way
-      'diffuse',
-      'opacity'
-    ]
-  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphere.js b/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphere.js
index df5a7197..e7249a8c 100644
--- a/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphere.js
+++ b/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphere.js
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ const geometry = new SphereBufferGeometry(1)
 
 // Common shared material, declaring the diffuse color as an instanceable uniform
 let material = new MeshPhongMaterial()
-material.instanceUniforms = ['diffuse']
 
 // Single mesh shared between all instanceables
 const protoObj = new Mesh(geometry, material)
diff --git a/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphereNoMatrix.js b/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphereNoMatrix.js
index 9836f7c7..45d57fc5 100644
--- a/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphereNoMatrix.js
+++ b/packages/troika-examples/instanceable/InstanceableSphereNoMatrix.js
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ let customShaderMaterial = createDerivedMaterial(new MeshPhongMaterial(), {
   vertexDefs: 'uniform float radius;',
   vertexTransform: 'position *= radius;'
 })
-customShaderMaterial.instanceUniforms = ['radius', 'diffuse']
 
 // Single mesh shared between all instanceables
 const protoObj = new Mesh(geometry, customShaderMaterial)
diff --git a/packages/troika-examples/ui/CubeOfCubes.js b/packages/troika-examples/ui/CubeOfCubes.js
index 5e4c3056..6518b776 100644
--- a/packages/troika-examples/ui/CubeOfCubes.js
+++ b/packages/troika-examples/ui/CubeOfCubes.js
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import { BoxBufferGeometry, Color, Mesh, MeshStandardMaterial } from 'three'
 
 
 const cubeMaterial = new MeshStandardMaterial({roughness: 0.7, metalness: 0.7})
-cubeMaterial.instanceUniforms = ['diffuse']
 const cubeMesh = new Mesh(
   new BoxBufferGeometry(1, 1, 1),
   cubeMaterial
diff --git a/packages/troika-examples/ui2/ColorCubes.js b/packages/troika-examples/ui2/ColorCubes.js
index d82fe2cb..47f44caa 100644
--- a/packages/troika-examples/ui2/ColorCubes.js
+++ b/packages/troika-examples/ui2/ColorCubes.js
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import { BoxBufferGeometry, Color, Mesh, MeshStandardMaterial } from 'three'
 
 
 const cubeMaterial = new MeshStandardMaterial({roughness: 0.7, metalness: 0.7})
-cubeMaterial.instanceUniforms = ['diffuse']
 const cubeMesh = new Mesh(
   new BoxBufferGeometry(1, 1, 1),
   cubeMaterial