What do i need to wax my ski's??

Canuker

Canuker

Active member
So ive decided i want to start waxing my skis on my own. Ive seen the swix master tuning kit come up on TD a few times but i dont think im ready to shell out that much $$

What are the essential tools i need and what is it going to run me??

Also i have a normal work bench in my basement, i dont need a ski specific one do i?
 
solid set up: Swix vices to hold your skis, an iron you can set the temp (each wax has a different melting point), scraper, all-in-one brush (metal center bristles with nylon outside ones).
 
Saw horses work good enough for me cause i cant justify paying $150^ on vises. Buy a $40 waxing specific iron, bristle/brass hybrid brush, and a scraper and of couse wax. For wax id choose Swix universal for a starting out wax cuz its easy to use and scrape.
 
you dont NEED vices. i dont have any and im fine. i just have a dakine iron (think it was like $25), a few brushes, and a scraper, plus my waxes.

But i would honestly recommend a metal scraper over a plastic one, i just feel like the metal works a bit better
 
the absolute bare necessities are an iron, wax and a scraper. having a brush is nice but without it it just takes a couple of slow runs before you get all the wax off.
 
The metal will remove ptex if you scrape to hard, its not a good idea.

Also you need a iron, wax, a plastic scraper, a microfiber piece(its costs like 2 bucks), and a all around brush.
 
I use a $7 clothing iron from target, a big dakine plastic scraper, a scrub pad for texturing, and rubber bands to hold the brakes down....Have never had a problem with that setup.
 
the video in ski maintenance thread does a great job of showing what you need and how to use it properly
 
are the plastic scrapers you get with board shorts food enough??

and for people who dont buy vices, how do you keep your skis stable while turned upside down??
 
^yeah that scraper will work. i use a work bench vice, a toolbox to balance one end on, some rubber bands to hold down the brakes, and shitty normal iron that we got at a garage sale for $10 a long ass time ago
 
you don't need vices, like someone else said. BUT they are rather helpful for keeping your skis in one place. If you don't use them, you just have to keep adjusting and repositioning your skis.
 
Spot on! If your just waxing its cool, but if you want to work on edges and repair you need to get it in a vice. I use this:
and it is something like 30$. I have on at home and one at my cabin in the mountains. It is a nice thing to have and works fine. I use it for twintip, tele, and cx skis. And if you need fast, fast skis the brushing and the brush is important.
 
I actually already have saw horses so its good to know they work well.

As for wax, what am i looking at getting? Temperatures around here range from around -5 C to -25 C (well temperatures id be skiing in) I just want a relatively in expensive wax.

Also, im planning on getting a waxing iron but some people in here said normal irons work. Are they that bad??

 
oh and if people could post links of good irons and waxs it would be great.

and by good i mean good price for a beginner like me. I dont need a world cup quality iron
 
honestly, just buy Swix. They make the best stuff out there, and it's a good value. They make great irons starting at $40 and go up to $300. If you had to use one wax, use their Alpine Race Prep (it's a red mixure for slightly warmer conditions). Using a warm wax like this is really good because it opens up your base and it can deeply saturate your base. The more you use it, the better your bases will be, plus if you were to add the temperature of the day on a Prepped base, it's super fast.
 
yea sorry ima look at that.

But everyone who did help thanks alot! very helpful indeed. +k to all but not right now because im in a hurry lawls
 
well i just raked up $175 in late christmas gifts this weekend so i have money to fund this indevor. So yea if someone wants to let me know if this package is good id appreciate it.
 
Damn that sucks. I had to do three pairs a few days ago and it was hell. OP all you really need is wax (I use dakine), an iron, a scraper, and a way to buff it. Some people use brushes, I use a piece of cork board
 
You dont really need a brush, in a few runs the snow grounds the extra wax off pretty well. I've used a file tool, wax scraps and an old house iron and a credit card as a scraper and done a pretty good job. 90% of the results of a good tune is just getting a fresh coat of wax on your base.
 
thats the only park i dont get. The buffing.

When people say buff i picture like youd buff a car, like rub the wax in with a buffer. But i dont think thats what it means in ski terms
 
Buffing basically rubs the wax in and removes any unneeded extra thats on the base.

Again, riding a few runs will do the same wax removal as a brush.
 
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