Hot Waxing skis?

van_roon

van_roon

Member
i have wax for my skis but not sure how to apply it to my skis, it is hot wax. and also any other tips on sharpening skis?
 
get an iron. touch the wax to the iron while holding the iron vertically over your skis, drip the wax all over your bases. there will now be a bunch of little dots on your bases. run the iron along the dots. they will melt. once everything is melted smoothly all over, scrape off all that wax with a scraper untill no more wax comes off, you only want the wax to have been absorbed into the bases. YOUTUBE IT
 
I use a clothing iron... Probably not the best thing, but it works fine for me, just make sure not to put it too hot, or else it will burn the base.
 
the problem with clothing irons is that the temp doesn't stay consistent. like oyu said, there's mroe of a risk of burning since you can't set it to an exact bumber
 
don't waste your money on a wax iron. just go and buy the cheapest iron you can find that doesn't have the teflon coating. Same goes for edge files, diamond stones ski clamps, scrapers and brushes. You can find all that stuff at a hardware store for much cheaper. All you really need to buy is a good file guides (not sure the actual term, the thing you stick the file into).

I guess if you are racing you might want to get one of those precision irons, but for most people a normal iron and a sharpie so you can remember the best temp is fine.

 
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horrible investment. you would be an awful thrifty wife. marry someone rich.

go to goodwill or any second hand store. buy a shitty iron for $5. proceed to use that. it will do THE EXACT same thing as a $40 swix iron.

 
he means edge bevels. each company depends on diffrent edge angles. most will use a 1 degree base and 91 degree edge bevel. these edging tools are pretty specalized so get all the basic shit first like wax, ski wax spesific iron, scrapers and a nylon brush to finish that shit off. shit will be expensive but its fun to use. remember, a ski should be waxed ones every few shreds, not ones a year
 
dont hold your iron sideways like that idiot in the video. and always work from tip to tail. and dont use a standard home iron. it doesnt work for a number of reasons. a basic ski wax iron costs like $40. and you should wax your skis every 2 days minimum.
 
I would say it varies person to person, and ski to ski depending on bases. I just eyeball mine and when the bases are looking chalky white and dried up I wax them which is usually every 2-4 days of use. Sure you don't have to but it just makes everything last longer and more enjoyable. Plus doing it yourself makes it so cheap anyways.
 
I usually play this song. It gets quite dirty with me and my skis with swix in the mix ;)

 
standard home irons dont work for a few key reasons. 1 being that they heat and cool constantly. you want your iron to stay at a consistent temp when waxing. also, wax will eventually kill your home iron as the filament cannot handle the wax. that is the other main reason; the irons filament. ski irons are actually quite diff than your avg home iron. home irons also dont have temperature adjustments which is crucial to waxing.

irons are super cheap and most come with lifetime warrantys. and if you think a wax job lasts you 2 weeks youre smoking crack. it depends a lot on conditions but if youre out skiing ice/park, your wax will last 2 days if your lucky. and theres no such thing as over waxing your skis. the more the better!

i work in a shop doing this shit for my paychekcs fyi.
 
well I guess a wax iron might be worth it then. For sure the files and brushes and clamps are just a huge waste of money though.

absolutely no difference between a home depot file for less than a buck and a 10 dollar toko one.
 
when he sais 91 i think he means 89,

tho only time i tune my edges is when i hit rocks, to take of the carbonized steel and tend to do it without a bevel
 
Dude, don't believe every marketing bullshit people tell you. Ski irons work exactly the same as clothing irons, only difference is the shape of soleplate and that the the dial is marked with temperature instead of dots or whatever on the latter. And yes, ski irons heat and cool as well during operation. Also, wax doesn't destroy soleplates, it just makes them dirty (duh).
 
no they dont. ski irons always remain a constant temp. they do no heat and cool. ill repeat it again, i work in a ski shop doing this shit every day. i know how ski irons work.
 
the shape of ski irnos compared to home irons has a large impact as well. and w/ a home iron youre just guessing if your temp is right and hoping youre not burning the shit out of your bases. and if you have die-cute bases youll just torch the hell out of them eventually and need new skis cause the die-cuts cant handle the constant burning. also, if youre not getting the right temp, your wax wont even saturate properly into the bases wasting you even more money.

if you go and pay 500 bucks for skis, go pay $40 for a basic ski iron.
 
how are you ment to know what temp to wax your skis at ? is is specific for difrent waxs? i got my wax from freeze pro shop and came in a clear bag with no instructions, ive been waxing my own skis with a £3 iron from tesco seems to work ok, just check my bases arnt getting too hot. not that im saying dont buy a propa iron if u can afford it, ive got the joys of being piss poor in order to ski everyday :D
 
depending on what company youre getting your wax from just get on their site if you cant find the iron temp on the back of the packaging. if you cant find it, just try to get as close to 120* as possible.
 
i know why you have 9 karma, because you are a fucking retard.

buy a ski iron, mine cost be 35 bucks, how cheap could you be? you just spent hundreds of dollars on new skis and you are going to risk burning the bases with a shitty home iron?

to op:

waxing can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, if you are a park rat like the majority of this site then i wouldnt worry about the complexity of hot waxing, just keep it simple

1. melt it on with your iron set at the corect them for the wax

2. let it cool for about an hour

3. scrape

4. buff, this isnt needed but i will list it any way, use a brass brush to start, then a nylon, then some people use a coarse boar hair, and then re do the nylon and then finish with a horse hair. again this is probably way overkill for 90% of this site.

5. fibertex pad, i am going to say this is something you will want, this is one of the final stages of buffing the base, it will give your ski that new look. sometimes followed by a polishing clothe.

those are the basics, there is a thread in gear talk that goes pretty in depth if you want to know more.
 
this, every thing he has listed is what a pro ski tech would do but if all you shred is park, then just get some rub on wax. rub on wax is a cheap salution for all you park, jewbagels out there.
 
it will say on the packaging the wax came in, depends if its just regular basewax or high-fluoro wax, low-fluoro wax
 
I just wax and scrape them. Unless your racing there isn't even really a need to brush them. Its worth there 40 bucks to invest in a ski specific iron.
 
you won't destroy your skis with a normal iron. I know this because I have been waxing skis with a normal iron for over 10 years. I mean you could be stupid with it and ruin your skis but you could do the same with a wax iron.

We are freeskiers, not racers! you need two kinds of wax. blue and red. Also to save money get a chunk of the white stuff to clean with.
 
Turn the iron on high and heat the base of your ski up in 1/4 sections. When you start to smell a little burning, rub wax on each section until the base cools down and the wax stops melting. When each ski is done, let them sit for 3 minutes, and rub the excess wax off with a brillo pad.
 
NO NO NO NO NO. wtf? you do not go around heating your bases and then rub wax on. jesus fucking christ.

you melt the wax on with the iron, then iron it in working from tip to tail.

christ dont listen to anything this kid just said. get educated ffs.
 
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