Thread: New to waxing

Just like everyone else has been saying, a thrift store iron is perfect. I have been using the old mans 35 year old iron for 8 years and it does the job perfectly considering I haven't had to buy an expensive iron.

If you decide to do edges--only do the side edges, not the bottoms. Anywhere from one to three degrees (I like three degrees for better edge bite but it's probably all in my head). The bottoms of the edges are only beveled after the base has been completely flattened as part of a tune--if you use a file guide to bevel your own bottoms you'll be removing too much material and the edges won't bite. Plus they'll have to remove too much material to flatten the skis if you do have them tuned. I ruined a pair of skis that way--fortunately they needed to be ruined.

I wouldn't buy Lo Flouro wax just the swix CH stuff or equal. I use mostly CH6 and CH7
CH 4 is for supper cold days and if you never ski when its not worth getting.

I tend to use colder waxs as they are harder and hence last longer. Will give up fast for less often

Originally Posted by DougW

I wouldn't buy Lo Flouro wax just the swix CH stuff or equal. I use mostly CH6 and CH7
CH 4 is for supper cold days and if you never ski when its not worth getting.

I tend to use colder waxs as they are harder and hence last longer. Will give up fast for less often

The Swix F4 (universal lo fluoro) is pretty cheap and very good, especially on wetter snow.

Originally Posted by old goat

If you decide to do edges--only do the side edges, not the bottoms.

Sometimes you WILL need to flat file the base side, typically when the edges are oxidized, when they are railed (higher than the base), or when you hit rocks. If you're just starting out, don't even worry about base bevel, just get the bottom of the ski (including edges) as flat as possible. If you later decide to add a bit of base bevel, the budget solution is to wrap fiberglass strapping tape over the handle end of the file to hold it up off the ski (usually 2-3 wraps depending on how wide the ski gives you a ~ 1 degree base bevel). As far as taking off too much base or edge material, don't worry - there's plenty there to stone grind should you hose the job and want to start fresh.

Re: edge bevel, 1 and 1 (one degree base, one degree side edge) is a common manufacturer's spec. 1 and 3 is a little extreme for most recreational skiing, usually requested more by technical slalom/GS skiers for very hard snow.

Originally Posted by dumpy

Good tunes, good beer, good ventilation- all important to a good tune job.

good ventilation is huge when waxing

but actually if u smell that stuff it smells like (alcohol and 'soft acetone/thinner') so it cant be to magic.

I buy the bulk container of swix universal warm (purple) and swix universal cold (blue) from Tognar.

Cheap, and seems to work great for both skate skiing and alpine. Slather on a generous coat of the warm at the end of the season.

Watch tramdock/Steepandcheap at the end of the season (or even now) as thats where i picked up my waxing iron. its an actual swix one i think i paid ~30 bucks for. Normally its like 70 or so.

Just got to look at waxing as an investment of sorts. Once you have say a file guide, thats basically the only file guide you will need till you break or lose it. same for nice brushes. pick up a some brushes and they will last you a very long time.

Wax itself is basically the only part that gets replaced. I use cheap swix universal for hot scraping and put on for summer storage. Then i use some nice CH6 or 7 for in season waxing. Buy the 900g bulk and itll last you awhile. After ~3 years i think im halfway through my 900g of CH7 (maybe a quarter through universal) but thats more or less only doing one set of skis....my other summer/rock set only really gets summer wax anymore.

As for hot scraping vs just wiping clen. I just hot scrap with the belief it warms up the pores, opening them up a tiny bit and allowing the real wax to possibly penetrate a bit more. Does it actually do that? Beats me but it sounds good in my head

Originally Posted by Velillen

Watch tramdock/Steepandcheap at the end of the season (or even now) as thats where i picked up my waxing iron. its an actual swix one i think i paid ~30 bucks for.

I got mine off Steepandcheap as well, and it's nice, but about the same price as my five thrift store irons that served me well for decades.

Originally Posted by Velillen

As for hot scraping vs just wiping clen. I just hot scrap with the belief it warms up the pores, opening them up a tiny bit and allowing the real wax to possibly penetrate a bit more. Does it actually do that? Beats me but it sounds good in my head

I think hot scraping is a valid technique, but the whole cleaning thing is over-rated. Especially if you're doing most of your skiing at a ski area in Alberta in the winter, the bases should almost never need cleaning - just a quick cold scrape and a few passes with Scotchbrite and wax right over what you've got. You may as well leave the existing wax in the pores.

I pretty much only hot scrape with used skis when the quality of the old wax is an unknown or brand new skis when I want to start from scratch saturating the bases.

I pretty much only use citrus solvent during the spring touring season when pollen leaves a thick gooey mess on your bases.

Edit to add: Ooops, guess the OP is in Ontario . . .

Originally Posted by dumpy

Slidewright- maggot owned shop (I'm surprised Terry hasn't chimed in yet), good selection, great to deal with, fair prices. Look on there for tools and tips.

The things I miss when I go on a trip......

KISS should rule your waxing routines. The wax needs to go in the base and the structure free via brushing after scraping. A broad range, colder wax can still run OK when it gets warmer....coupled with a more aggressive structure.

Check out our Tuning Tips on Waxing as well as the other options shown above. Check out the efficient waxing techniques to minimize wax use and time.

I've been experimenting with a locally made (San Juan Mountains, CO) wax, Glide-On. I'm really liking the glide of the purple (cold) as a decent and more durable 'cold to moderate universal' and the arctic for cold. Usually, cheap means less durable, but this wax has a higher level of polymer and micro-crystalline added to increase durability. After I (and a few others) tested the red (medium), the chemist changed the formula towards colder to make it more like a true medium option that also runs real well when it gets warmer and wetter. Since this wax isn't made overseas and travels via ship container, rail and UPS thousands of miles, the product cost is less and of higher quality than typical bulk universals.

As a test for the base cleaner doubters, take a light cleaner to your bases and see how much dirt and crap you see on a paper towel. I'm not convinced hot scraping removes the dirt and simply smears it into the next layer to some degree. With a light base cleaner, you can more quickly clean the bases and get your waxing done and move on to other things. Leaving base cleaners on longer will remove more wax and dirt. You can dilute it and use it quickly to get the surface clean without actually removing the wax layer and the BS claims of 'drying out the bases'.

Alright, your going to college and need a cheap way to get your skis tuned/waxed. My method is:
Get a job at ski shop
Have head tech teach you 1/4 of his tuning knowledge,
Forget most of it.
Leave skis with shop guys
Go help cute chick chick with ski boots
Pick up skis from shop guys,
Return favor by fixing shop guy's girl's boot problems.
Get shop guy's girlfriend's number

Oh, and you get paid to do my method.

Originally Posted by Alpinord

As a test for the base cleaner doubters . . .

Mine come up pretty clean, but I sometimes forget that not everyone carries their skis inside their car or in a roof box (ie. never on an exposed rack or sliding around in the bed of a truck). If you do carry your skis on a roof rack, they'll get plenty dirty.

Originally Posted by gregL

Mine come up pretty clean, but I sometimes forget that not everyone carries their skis inside their car or in a roof box (ie. never on an exposed rack or sliding around in the bed of a truck). If you do carry your skis on a roof rack, they'll get plenty dirty.

Interestingly, a couple days ago, after skiing 1/2 day on 'clean' packed powder and fresh snow, my skis traveled in a ski bag in my car for 20 minutes. I applied a light cleaner and was a bit surprised to see how much dirt came off. Depending on where and when and other factors, there's all kinds of stuff that can get on your bases, including pitch, oil and grease.

You can dry brush as well to try and remove dirt, but oily stuff won't come off easily.

Originally Posted by Alpinord

Interestingly, a couple days ago, after skiing 1/2 day on 'clean' packed powder and fresh snow, my skis traveled in a ski bag in my car for 20 minutes. I applied a light cleaner and was a bit surprised to see how much dirt came off. Depending on where and when and other factors, there's all kinds of stuff that can get on your bases, including pitch, oil and grease.

You can dry brush as well to try and remove dirt, but oily stuff won't come off easily.

Are you saying you use base cleaner everytime you ski (or that you have a a really dirty ski bag ) ?

I guess I would never think to clean my bases after just a half days use. Or phrased as a more general question- just when and how often is applying base cleaner really necessary?

Originally Posted by Mofro261

Are you saying you use base cleaner everytime you ski (or that you have a a really dirty ski bag ) ?

I guess I would never think to clean my bases after just a half days use. Or phrased as a more general question- just when and how often is applying base cleaner really necessary?

My ski bag is so dirty, the dirt migrates to the bases even though they are facing each other......

There's no absolutes and a lot of it is highly subjective and more art than science. Depends on where you ski, your tolerance level or personal standards, gut feeling, snow type, experience, time you have, mojo, level of glide you'd like to try to obtain and maintain, number of skis, etc, etc.

Personally, for the brainless approach, I spray and wipe most every time with a light cleaner I wax and after edge work and base repair work. It takes seconds and I 'feel' like I at least substantially reduce the possibility of deleterious stuff staying on the base and in the wax. Usually I will light hot scrape afterwards to pull off anything left and reduce scraping later AND leave a thin film of wax on while edge tuning. Then scrape and brush and get out the door.

The above coupled with the use of highly durable wax so I don't have to wax as often as others tend to wax. Find out out how long your wax really lasts on various snow types and conditions and for how many hours, not days or 1/2 days to find the extremes. You may find you are wasting time, material, effort and expense by waxing more than you truly need to be waxing.

Originally Posted by Mofro261

I guess I would never think to clean my bases after just a half days use.

Mofro, the snow at Alpental is SO much cleaner than CO that I wouldn't even worry about it. Not to mention the dirt in Lot 4.

Originally Posted by gregL

Mofro, the snow at Alpental is SO much cleaner than CO that I wouldn't even worry about it. Not to mention the dirt in Lot 4.

The snow at Baker is *much* cleaner than Alpental snow!

Im just interested, how are you going to celebrate New Year? Where and how are you going to celebrate it?
About me - Im going to celebrate it in the restaurant with my husband, just from 31 of December, and after that well go to the booked hotel lux room.. What about you?

how do these look..?
http://www.racewax.com/cart.cgis

http://tognar.com/cart.cgi

They look like empty carts because I'm not logged in as you. Maybe cut and paste the text?

^ my bad

to save on shipping i decided i just wanted to ship from one place and the place i felt best was tognar. unfortunatly i cant copy links to specific products because it wont let me so heres what i was thinking

tognar combo brush (half nylon half brass)
1.25 kg toko all around wax (0 to -30 C)
Chugger wax iron

Originally Posted by Canuker

tognar combo brush (half nylon half brass)
1.25 kg toko all around wax (0 to -30 C)
Chugger wax iron

That should be fine to start. In your climate, you might want to add a finer brush, like the short nylon or horsehair - generally, bigger structure like you will get with the combo brush is for wet snow (you would use this brush first, at any rate), you then follow that with a finer, softer brush for cold temps.

Originally Posted by gregL

That should be fine to start. In your climate, you might want to add a finer brush, like the short nylon or horsehair - generally, bigger structure like you will get with the combo brush is for wet snow (you would use this brush first, at any rate), you then follow that with a finer, softer brush for cold temps.

ohh, i wasnt aware of the proper use of each brush. Well in that case ill just get a horse hair.

Just wondering though is a brush really all that necessary then? I ski on hard snow alot so wont excess wax just be taken off on the first couple runs anyway