How to use p tex?

R

RustyTrombone

Member
i bought some snow kit made by demon, and it came with p tex to fill in any gouges. i tried using the method off demonsnow.com, but it didnt make the p tex drippy, so i couldnt put it into t he slice on my skis. anyone have a better method to get it to work?
 
If it's just a Ptex candle thing you just hold a lighter on the end until it catches on fire... .then it drips in. pretty simple, and not many other ways around it.
 
yeah you only want it in the areas which is affected, and the base definitely needs to remain totally flat..its an intricate job which is why shops tend to charge a bit for using ptex in base repairs.

If in doubt melt too little in there and you can always add more, when there is too much its a real pain to sort it out
 
what i did is filled in the hole then take the scraper that i use for waxing and just made it flat with the base.
 
The key is where you hold it in the flame. Hold the tip of the p tex at the very tip of the flame. You shouldn't see any black crap forming in the p tex as it starts to heat up. If you do hold the stick slightly higher. Be patient and you will first see the p tex turn clear and then eventually a flame will form on the end. Then get you metal scraper and hold the ptex as close to the scraper as you can. This will keep the flame blue and hot. If you see the flame start to turn orange hold it closer. It's all about keeping the black carbon from forming in the p tex. That stuff won't stay in the holes for long.
 
And you don't need to get it exactly right. All you need is a razor blade. i always make the repair stick out more than my base, then take a razor blade and push it across your ski, just as you do with a scraper when waxing. It takes the excess off and leaves the new area prefect flat and flush with the base.
 
u just let it harden then scrape it off. theres a metal scraper thats a lot thinner than a wax scraper
 
this guy knows whats up. watch out for the black stuff and if you light it with an oxygen torch its about the right temperature of where it should be burning
 
im a shop tech by the way. when using white/clear p-tex is hella hard to get the black stuff off so what i do is catch the end on fire (like all p-tex) let it drip a few times and wipe it on a metal sheet our shop uses so all of the black shit gets off the end, then let it rip (not run) onto the base of the ski, let it cool for about 3 minutes then scrap off and run it over the sander to have a smooth base. same goes with black and other colored p-tex only. if the gash in the ski is really deep, and the p-tex is coming off on the sanding machine..use the glue gun with the stronger petex to make up for the chunk of base missing then petex over that so that its even throughout the rest of the ski
 
it takes a long time to catch it on fire but after it is it will drip like crazy.

fill it in good and than use a scaper to make it flush with the base.
 
how much is a ptex candle? is it worth buying the candle for a little piece, or is it better to just take it to a ski shop?
 
there like 7$ at our shop here, but if you dont know how to do it then you should ask the shop tech how to do it. but buy the candle, and use it over and over...till its gone...
 
i find the best way is not to actually burn the p-tex and let it drip in drops, but hold it low to the base and simply heat it until it melts down into the scratch in one stream.
 
the best way to use p tex is to get the ribbon flat strips and use a p tex saudering candel to melt the p tex... let it dry then use a sharp razor to shread the remaining ptex down and use sandpaper.
 
P-texing is an art. First you get black p-tex for black bases and I use clear for other colors. You want to clean out the bases first and especially the area that you are going to p-tex. Then you should light the p-tex stick with a butane lighter, blowtorch. Then you wait until the the p-tex lights on fire and starts dripping. You start to drip into the scratch/gouge and pretty soon it will be one fluid stream of on fire p-tex going into the base. On it is filled in extinguish the flame and let set for about 1 minute. Then use a metal scraper and or an exacto-knife blade to remove extra p-tex. Wax and there as good as new. If you only have matches then black p-tex will come out fine. However, If it is clear then there will be carbon(black spects) in the liquifided clear p-tex. It is difficult to get the clear p-tex not to have carbon if you use matches. + carbon weakens the p-tex job but that doesn't matter
 
yo, take it to a shop. after we do them we run them over the stone grinder to repattern the base and make make the repair flush with the rest of the ski. chances are you could use the tune anyways.
 
step1. light p-tex candle until it starts dripping

step 2. hold above hole in base an fill it as eavenly as possible

step 3. let it dry out for 20 seconds roughly

step 4. scrape away excessw with a steel scraper(sharper than a plastic one makes it easier)

step 5. make sure the p-tex is flat with base, brush it and then put some wax over the top an scrape while its still wet so you clean your base.

 
Check my earlier post for how to keep th carbon out of your p-tex. It's all about where you hold the stick in relation to the match/candle and the scraper.
 
Also, make sure the flame is blue before dripping to cut down on carbon. Sine the candles are really just really soft extruded P-tex, and most park skies have sintered bases, this area won't absorb as much wax, to offset this, you should consider having a shop do a base weld, which is alot more permanent, and is especially good in the case of a coreshot.
 
i tend to prefer using ptex guns, but that isnt very economical.

Just dont allow the black carbon to drip into it as much as possible, otherwise, in my experience, it flakes too easily and comes out quickly
 
Once you get the p-tex lit, it should burn with a small, blue flame, yellow flame is bad. You can keep the flame small and under control by dabbing it on some folded up aluminum foil. When you're applying the p-tex, hold it close to the gouge and just let it pour in. If you're holding it high enough to actually drip, that's bad, you'll see the drips light up with the yellow flame as they fall, not good. You can also try texturing the inside of the gouge with a file first, this can help the p-tex stick better. Also work somewhere well ventilated because the p-tex smoke is toxic.
 
hah, everybody at my shop loves the smell after you blow it out

another thing thats good to do when youre ptexing is to make little tiny cuts in the area you want to fill, it gives the ptex something to hold on to when it dries so theres less chance it'll rip out
 
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