Waxing skis?

best and cheepest way to wax skis.

Go to walmart, buy a 16$ clothing iron.

Go to a ski shop, buy all temp wax, edge sharpeber and a cheap scraper.

Plug in the iron, when it gets hot, drip the wax on your skis.

Best to do it over a garbage can/ put your boots in the bindings.

Use the iron to get melt the wax until it's all liquid.

Cover all your skis with this. Let it dry. Scrape as much as you can off.

Sharpen your edges.

Shred.

 
You'd want to base clean too...

the alcohol that is in the cleaner brings the dirt and other shit in your bases out, allowing the wax to pull it up to the top, and then scraped off, cleaning it even more.

ptex'ing too, and make sure you take care of core shots! water getting into your core is bad news bears.
 
or if your like me, you take your electric hand held grinder in your garge and grind your edges down all the way... but thats just me. i hate edges with a passion
 
thats how you do it, but its so much more complicated.

like what he said is right, but you cant just heat it up, if the wax is smoking, its too hot and thats dangerous, you have to keep the iron moving on your skis, you can ruin your skis if you mess this up to be honest, but if you do everything right, it will be fine. i suggest searching on youtube, thats where i learned
 
dude, your voice does not match your body at all.... like way deep

but non the less, mad props for that, very good tutorial. Im super jealous of your waxing setup and supplies, i have to do it in my basement on a ironing board with newspaper down to catch the falling wax, and i can't scrap on a flat surface, i need to like stand it up on my shoulder to scrape :/
 
yeah everyone pretty much handled it.

but i didnt see anything about this so my tip - dont press down on the iron at all. just let it glide.

also, the guy on the video just said when its cool scrap it... you should let them soak at least overnight if you want the wax to really penetrate the bases.

good luck.
 
i dont think that this has been mentioned(at least in this thread)

but is it bad to use an iron with steam holes in it?

will it be bad if wax clogs up those steam holes too much?
 
yeah preferably use an iron without holes so you don't end up remelting dirty wax into your skis the next time
 
A few points that haven't been mentioned yet...
1. BASE CLEANER - really important, otherwise your skis are left with a ton of shit left on them and you just put new wax on old wax and dirt etc. You would be surprised the amount of crap that comes off when you give them a clean. I use dakine base cleaner because it's easy to use, you don't need much and it smells nice but you can use nail polish remover or paint thinner, maybe test it on some old skis first (don't hold me responsible if it fucks up!)
2. DO YOUR EDGES (if you are going to) BEFORE WAXING - why? because this way you can really go to town on them and not worry about taking off your nice new shiny wax layer.
3. HEAT UP YOUR SKIS FIRST - run the iron up and down the ski with no wax on it. Get the ski nice and warm, this opens the pores on the ski to allow the wax to settle in better.
4. MAKE SURE YOU SCRAPE THE WAX OFF YOUR EDGES - a decent scraping tool will have a notch just for your edges, but you can use any metal scraper to get all the wax off.
5. IF YOU HAVE TIME - LEAVE OVER NIGHT. If you leave the wax on your ski over night it will have time to properly cool right to the core. the next morning, scrape most of the wax off.
6. BUFF/BRUSH YOUR SKIS. Your bases will look super shiny if you do this right, looks nice and makes for a smooth base that you know is gonna ride fast and smooth too.

The youtube vid covers filling holes pretty nicely. You can also use lids off pringles tubs to fill in your base if you have a coloured base or no poly candle.
 
Good points except for this. Not only does base cleaner get all the bad stuff out, that also includes wax. Everytime you hot wax the heat will naturally bring impurities from the ski to the surface, which will in turn be scraped off the top when its cooled. Base cleaner should be used very sparingly, if at all, because it will reverse all the work youve doen to get wax into the bases pores over repeated waxes. Only time i would recommend it is after like a week of summer glacier skiing, where you are skiing on all the junk left over from the winter, and your base actually gets "dirty". Otherwise just leave the cleaning to the hot wax.
 
Fair point unless you have done like a month or so without waxxing, where there is pretty much no wax left anyway. It's good to give your base a really good clean once in a while.
 
Good point. I come from the habit of waxing after everytime i ski, so its never needed for me. I forgot that most people dont do that, so yes you are correct in that scenario.
 
Great vid mrtskier=) really learnt alot.

I was wondering tho',

I'm getting new skis tommorow and, should i wax them before I use them the first time? should i wax after?

And should I dull my edges with the gummi stone before going into the park? does this "prevent" cracks in the edges?

sry for the thread jacking:P but I figured, i shouldnt make another thread about this
 
If your skis came prewaxed there's no need to wax them before or after your first time out. Most skis come prewaxed, so you should be good to go.
 
I try and never use base cleaner unless i'm prepping for some serious base work - a hot scrape does the same job.

Base cleaner dries out your bases like a mofo

 
I wax mind every couple of days - It's all there:

1220681193waxing.JPG
 
It depends on the skis and conditions. Generally I will wax my regular in-bounds skis every day or two, but you can probably get away with a little more under regular conditions. Just watch along the edges for white bases, that's when you really need to get some wax--ideally you will get it before this happens, but we all get lazy sometimes. In the spring you will need to wax every day because the snow becomes so abrasive, and even that usually isn't quite enough. On the other end of the spectrum, I will wax my AT skis about every 10-12 times I go out....but there isn't quite as much snow time involved when you are touring.
 
are you serious thomas?
i wax mine like once a month... wax is fucking expensive.
although you may have the hookups via arlberg or whatever
 
Honestly if you want the best results and performance for tuning your skis, dont do it yourself and take it to well respected ski shop. I can vouche for myslef because tuning my skis now that i work at a ski co. it is so much more technical than what i did at home.

Base & Side Edge- An eding machine will do the job perfectly (if your have $5,000). The machine levels out any obstrusive bending or movement in your edges. They not only remove rust build up, but sharpen your edges so they slice, and yes ,melt the snow. Edging can be done at varying degrees based off of personal requisites, brand, and model skis

Belt Grind- If you have $70,000 to spare, why not buy a Wintersteiger ski and board tuning machine! The belt portion of the machine is done first. It essentially removes any obstructive material that has built up in the base over a period of time. Note: not dirt or grass or any temporary substance. but particles that have snuggled themselves into the base.

Stone Grind- The stone grinder, note we're not grinding your bases with a stone. but in fact we're cutting a pattern into the base of the ski that not only smooths the base, but creates a structure within the base that deviates the temporary water that is beneath your base and essentially creates a weak form of thrust for your ski.

De-Tuning- Sometimes, the tune we created for most skiers and boarders is making the equipment too fast for them to control. So you should de-tune your ski with a file along end of the skis running length when it is in contact with snow. only do this with a couple clean strokes. you can also de-tune under under binders if you want to slide well in the park. Also use a gumi-stone for any fine tuning along any edge or just to get rid of missed rust build up

How Wax- DO NOT, use a clothing iron, or any wax you can get a hold of, and DO NOT heat your bases up before you wax, all you;re doing is burning the base material only to create more friction. Instead use a high quality polycarbonate wax. I prefer Swix or Purl and apply at the recommended temp. Use as little wax as possible, yet completely cover the entire running length of the base. Then use ONE slow, but moving stoke to soak the wax into the pores of the base.

Scraping & Cleaning- You can begin scraping your skis after the wax has been applied. Usually do this once the wax is at room temp. or leave it dry in a few hours. Use a plastic scraper and scrape the wax off, but do not gouge the base because you ruined your tune. Then use a brass brush to remove any excess wax follwed by a a quick roto brush.
 
I respectfully disagree. Aside from a once-a-year stone grind at my local race shop, i do everything myself with all my own tools and get the same results as i do from the race shop. However for most skiers, you are probably right because they do not have the tools and knowledge, but for others, the same results can be achieved at home. So i guess im not disagreeing completly, just slightly.
 
I agree with you.

Outside of technical and precise machines like Wintersteiger, often better results can be achieved manually, they just take longer.

I prefer to do everything outside of major base work myself
 
i just learned how to wax skis today haha one of the shop techs at work showed me and i waxed my skis it was tight.. i don't think i can explain it though i'm too baked.. but learn how man its a good thing to know
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top