waxing

[john heath]

does one wax new skis? presumably the bases will have become dry in the shop?[/b]

[Max_501]

Yes. I put one coat of wax on new skis, but others suggest two or more coats based on the theory that new skis absorb more wax.

[Guest]

wax, wax, and wax somemore. especially new or freshly ground bases. wax wax wax. WC techs say a new/fresh base takes 20+ waxings to get up to speed. Just don't let the iron smoke.

[Guest]

thanks fellas.
and how long would you leave on a coat at a time?

[Ken]

What is your goal? Base protection and good handling? More speed? Absolute max speed?

I use an all purpose wax or scraps of different waxes from the bottom of my equipment box, melt it in, scrape it off when cooled, maybe brush it if I'm feeling energetic, and ski.


Ken

[Harald R. H.]

Racers wax their skis all the time. Race prep tuners on the world cup wax skis two and three times every time the skis are used. New skis should be waxed not scrapped over the summer. All skis should get a coat of wax before they are put away. Keep the bases out of direct sun. The UV rays, sun reflection etc. damage the bases (crosslink the polyethylene).

[Guest]

thanks fellas.
john.

[john heath]

toko market spray-on wax that looks like it needs far less time and also no scraping.
the base is pre-polished, the wax sprayed on and then the base is polished.
anyone had any experience with this stuff? they market it as a race product, so i presume it`s expensive.
from a convenience point of view, it looks good, and there would be less chance of doing anything wrong (I`m always worried I`m going to screw up the base with a scraper!)
any thoughts from you seasoned or well-informed skiers?

[Hobbit]

Hi John,

I believe that most race waxes are designed to give you a boost for the single race run. The philosopy is -- it should last for this run and if you need a fast skis again then wax some more. If you are a recreational skier, the race wax does not matter.

I tried some of the sprays -- they last for a couple hundreed feet and it's over. The same is true for the solvent-based stuff like NotWax and other gizmos. The wax must be absobed in the pores of the sintered base (make shure you are not having the cheap extruded bases since waxing them is pretty much useless). Also, I think that most sprays in the racing variety must be applied as a final step to already hot waxed and prepared surface.

I suggest trying all-temperature hot wax like Hertel since you don't have to worry about the air/snow temperature.

Nothing substitutes hot waxing. Don't be afraid to srape the bases, the plastic srcaper is harmless. The bases are sraped much more by the snow while skiing.

[john heath]

thanks for a detailed response hobbit, that's very helpful. one more question - you scrape off the wax right down to the bases, right? or do you leave a slight film covering?

[Hobbit]

Most of the time I scrape just an excess wax, sometimes I don't srape at all. The extra wax will come off if not scraped after one or two runs -- the snow will scrape it off. The top notch "polished" base condition will be important for racing when you need the top performance right from the start.

I usually apply wax not directly to the base, but use a good quality paper towel and drip the wax on it. Then I press the paper to the base with the iron and slide it. This way I can make the iron a little bit hotter without the risk of burning the bases. The extra wax never drips on the floor since it is absorbed by the paper towel so it's a cleaner job this way. It also cleans the base better since the dirt ends up being captured on the paper. It takes less wax as well. If you try it you'll see that the wax is spread quite evenly and there is not much left to scrape off.

[wasmith]

The paper towel trick sounds good. I'll give it a try on my son's snowboard when I'm home next weekend (better his board then my ski). Should be interesting.

I've found that a nice American Tourister Travel Iron (No steam) works really good for waxing skis. On the hottest setting it rarlly gets hot enough to smoke the wax, and once you put it against the ski to smooth the wax, it's never over heats.

I've also found that with the other types of rub on stuff (tefflon & floro based) that you need to combine these with a real set of hot waxes for best results. I use them for touch up and when traveling prevents doing a hotwax (There are other things to do at night besides waxing when on a ski trip).


Just rememeber... Each wonderful sunrise brings us closer to opening day!!!


WAS

[Guest]

I will confess that I am not a ski tech; but have been waxing and tuning my own skis for 30 years. I have taken several course on ski tuning. There are a couple of items stated in some of the posts that need further discussion.

New skis: I agree all new skis need to be cleaned and then waxed. Bases are porous and depending on the factory and storage (even though most skis are bagged) bases can be exposed to lots of dirt.

Cleaning and dirt removal. Never rewax a ski with out thorough cleaning. Also tune your edges before cleaning to ensure you remove any microfilings. Now we can shortcut; but it you wax over dirt, u you can trap it in the porous ski bases (yes ski bases are porous; in order that they hold wax). There really has been only minor composite changes in ski bases over the past 20 years. Skis should be cleaned with a base cleaner (some of the citrus based cleaners are good - do NOT use petroleum based solvents).

Always the concern with waxing is using an iron that is too hot. That is why the high priced waxing irons are sold. these have excellent temperature control. But I'm a frugal type and have always used a hand me down house iron cautiously!! If you overheat your bases the base compounds can fuse (no longer porous and will not hold wax). Same thing that happens when you repair a ski with a P-tex candle. The hot dripped P-tex is non porous and will not hold wax. Note: there are some cheap snowboards out on the market with reportedly 'fused bases' (cheaper manufacturing process).

Scraping and Brushing the waxed base. (I need to try the paper towel technique described above). Now that you have applied a layer of wax, you will remove the excess using a plastic scraper (or metal scraper if you know what you're doing). You are not done yet. Brushing is the most important preparation for the newly waxed ski. The base of the ski comes from the factory with many longitudinal 'grooves' (you can see these if you examine a base without excessive wax buildup). In order to minimize the excessive wax layer ( yes it may wear off after a run or three) you need to brush the ski longitudinally until it looks like it has no wax. The wax is in the pores of the skis. The longitudinal grooves in help ski help break water surface tension (snow does melt under the ski) and we are sliding on a film of water). So brush longitudinally until your arms are sore.

Result you will have a great turning ski first run down the slope.

I hope this helps clarify some waxing techniques.
I need to get my own skis ready for the upcoming season

Dave
in Vancouver ... rather be in Whistler

[NoCleverName]

About the only thing I can add is that to clean I avoid solvents altogether (even citrus) instead laying on a base prep or warm-weather wax and then scraping it off while still hot. Maybe I 'm getting ahead of myself, I'll start off with some modest metal brush work, followed by some fibralene paper, then hit it with the hot wax cleaning. If the scrapings look reasonably clean, on to the real waxing.

Now the one thing I've always been fuzzy on is exactly how long I should iron. I tend to spend 2 or 3 minutes on it until I can see/feel the wax actually absorb. Beats me if this is good versus those that just slam blam.

With all this waxing, I've got to be sure the ski isn't getting too hot. Also important: don't clamp that ski down to avoid stressing it. The heat's going to flattten it out a bit, maybe even reverse it for a while. It doesn't seem to take a very high heat setting to have an effect.

[bejes]

I think about 5 minutes per ski is about right. I do it at least until i can feel the ski is warm on the top sheet.