Are you a ski tune master of waxing off?

**lepistoir** · 01-05-2016, 09:43 PM

How fast can you wax a pair of skis?

No edge fiddling. Just drip, melt, iron, scrape, brush (minus the time it takes to let the wax cool).

Post your FKT and technique.

**2FUNKY** · 01-05-2016, 09:51 PM

Not sure. I enjoy my time in my garage sipping a beer, listening to tunes and waxing. It's a reset for me so not a race.

**Stikki** · 01-05-2016, 10:07 PM

**lepistoir** · 01-08-2016, 09:31 PM

Not really what I was looking for. I think I've got the clean and melt in wax to about 10 minutes per pair and the scrape then brush to 10-15. Does it really take almost a half hour to wax skis?

**carey** · 01-09-2016, 09:22 AM

To do it properly, yes.
Though plenty of that time is spent waiting for the wax to cool completely.

the "Time=Money" equation works differently for everyone.

**gregL** · 01-09-2016, 10:39 AM

Unless you have a rotobrush setup at home, the time consuming (and most important) part is always the brushing. What's your hurry?

**old goat** · 01-09-2016, 12:13 PM

I don't know the time, but I crayon on the wax. Saves a lot of time (and wax) scraping and brushing. Only time I drip is end of season. And my garage is cold enough to cool the skis off fast. Not WC standards I know, but I don't get passed on the flats.

**moose pit** · 01-09-2016, 12:21 PM

Chugging and or shot gunning beer tends to result in an inferior wax and tune.

**wyeaster** · 01-09-2016, 12:46 PM

i'm assuming the q and p is somewhat tongue in cheek? or is the amount of sidewall he took off reasonable? i know he said he was banging on rocks and stuff but it looked like he took off an enormous amount of material.

**PlayItLeo** · 01-09-2016, 01:31 PM

^^^ Totally standard. Remember, Coombs was going for 3 degrees. If you want less, maybe take like 60% sidewall instead of 80%. Don't forget - once, twice, thrice with the gummy. Report back on how they ski.

SB · 01-09-2016, 06:21 PM

I fkn luv me sum Roto brush.

**lepistoir** · 01-09-2016, 07:08 PM

I don't count wax cooling time since I don't have much control over that. Usually leave them overnight. I don't count warming them up inside time or anything else. I could see a Roto brush speeding things up a bit. The reason to wax faster is to wax more often. I probably only wax 3-4x a season because of the PITA. I'll try crayon application, but my past experience is more time is then required to spread the wax with the iron. Thanks all for suggestions. Surprised no one has stopped in to boast about their 9:49.271 edge and wax ninja technique

**wyeaster** · 01-09-2016, 07:16 PM

i wax the board pretty much every trip. it doesn't take that much time and a smooth glide is so nice and also helpful on flat traverses.

**JayPowHound** · 01-09-2016, 07:18 PM

Waxing shouldn't be a rush, or a "PITA"

As mentioned, it should be a break.. a re-set... a chance to enjoy some time with yourself and your gear.

I'd look at your set up, schedule, and priorities before I'd look at the stop watch.

Slow down. Crack a beer, put on some tunes, heat up the iron and enjoy the process.

Repeat. Weekly if needed.

**Flyoverland Captive** · 01-09-2016, 07:22 PM

Yesterday was the first time I've ironed wax in years. I usually just wait for a hot summer day, crayon the wax on, then lay the skis in the sun for a few hours. Reapply more wax when parts of the base appear dry. A few hours of this, then let them cool and store for the next winter.

I don't bother to scrape the wax off; the first run does it for me. I'm told if I don't wax often, my bases will dry up; but some of my skis are 10 years old, and are still going strong. Ymmv.

**wyeaster** · 01-09-2016, 07:30 PM

wow i must be dainty or doing a shitty job waxing because the performance drop from the beginning of a long first day to anywhere between the end of that first day to part way through the second is huge and noticeable for me. i always iron wax. i have a little crayon in my pack if it's the second of back to back and i can't hot wax between.

edit: condition dependent, obviously

**Flyoverland Captive** · 01-09-2016, 07:40 PM

I probably lose out on some glide, but then I usually just point 'em and let my 200# frame overcome any friction. :-)

**wyeaster** · 01-09-2016, 07:42 PM

i meant dainty as in being too sensitive to loss of glide. i'm 190 by way of 230 this time.

**lepistoir** · 01-10-2016, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by wyeaster

wow i must be dainty or doing a shitty job waxing because the performance drop from the beginning of a long first day to anywhere between the end of that first day to part way through the second is huge and noticeable for me. i always iron wax. i have a little crayon in my pack if it's the second of back to back and i can't hot wax between.

edit: condition dependent, obviously

mainly dependent on conditions. I just waxed with red and had two really good days and two so so days of glide on ~23° snow. White or yellow will be gone even faster. That black shit with some graphite powder will take forever to iron in but last a long time too. I am all for a little lovin time giving my sticks the special rubdown, but doing it as often as I wish I could is just not possible. If I could get it down to 10-15 minutes per pair, then I'd probably hit them more often. Also, with powder, touring, all mountain skis for me, gf, kid, there's a lot of waxing to do

**wyeaster** · 01-10-2016, 12:51 AM

Yeah, it's just me until spring. The 4 year old rents his skis so until my wife starts up in spring it's just one board 15-20 times a year. Hoping a splitboard might improve those days in the field numbers.

**MMP** · 01-10-2016, 03:19 AM

Originally Posted by scottyb

I fkn luv me sum Roto brush.

I had two kids racing for the high school, plus their weekend skis, two more kids that didn't race, plus my skis. Rotobrush changed my life. .

Random thoughts:

Also, skis are plastic and don't dry out. They appear dry because of tiny scratches in the base material caused by dendrites.

If you leave cold snow wax on overnight you're going to have no fun scraping (chipping) it off. I like hot scraping all temp wax for a really nice cleaning. I enjoy time in the room. Beer, tunes, tools; except when it's 8 pm and I have 4 pairs to go.

**lepistoir** · 01-10-2016, 06:41 AM

This looks like about the ideal. Could get a pair done in under 15 minutes total by focusing on these essentials.
1. Brush clean
2. Iron in wax
[Let cool]
3. Scrape
4. Nylon brush, maybe horsehair in cold smoke conditions

I can hear plenty of you complaining I forgot step 0 (and maybe also step .5 in between each step): drink beer. If I can get under ten minutes per pair, I'll have more time to enjoy that Donner Party Porter from Fifty Fifty Brewing before I go back up and deal with the teenager.

https://youtu.be/-hepZcZT_ic

**wyeaster** · 01-10-2016, 03:31 PM

i was under the impression that at least with some wax -- maybe it's only the grey wax for cleaning? -- if you scrape it while it's still warm/soft then you end up pulling some of the surface wax out of the pores or whatever the proper terminology is rather than shearing it off at or near the surface when it's cold. bollocks?

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 01-10-2016, 04:12 PM

For most of us this is all voodoo with the exception of snow temperature extremes. For warmer snow structure is way more important than wax. Mid winter I just rub some blue or purple(whatever is handy) on the iron and spread around and scrape while still warm and brush when "cool" , takes about 5 minutes per ski. This seems to be enough. I'm not one of those people who "likes to spend time with their gear", wtf?

**MMP** · 01-10-2016, 05:22 PM

Warm scraping cleans the base structure. Dirt, wax, etc. then re-wax, scrape, brush. I spend more time keeping edges sharp and honed than waxing. When it's really cold or really warm i pay more attention to wax.

The warm scrape is an added step. Not instead of waxing.