Hot boxing used skis?

[kidwoo]

I got a new pair of skis hot boxed last year and I'm pretty sold on the results.

I've got another pair I've skied on about a season and a half that I want to do this to as well.

I can do this right?

Do I need to clean the bases excessively with some gnarly base cleaner or anything?

[UTpowder]

Wouldn't just a good brushing be fine?

[davep]

I have no experience with hotboxing skis, but I'd bet you a beer that the answer is

"Yes, but you should hot-scrape them first, don't use base cleaner"

It's kindof like playing Trivial Pursuit - Canadian Edition, where the answer is always "Wayne Gretzky".

[kidwoo]

Wouldn't just a good brushing be fine?

This does what for deep penetration?


The penetration man!! FOCUS!!




Dave: heh......kind of what I'm thinking....

[bagtagley]

I have no experience with hotboxing skis, but I'd bet you a beer that the answer is

"Yes, but you should hot-scrape them first, don't use base cleaner"

It's kindof like playing Trivial Pursuit - Canadian Edition, where the answer is always "Wayne Gretzky".

Heh, that's funny. I was gonna reply to hot scrape them, even though I have no idea if it's a good idea, nor have I ever done it. All I know is, people always recommend it.

Hot scraping = the Tussin of the ski world.

[upallnight]

kidwoo -
what the folks above say is right.

you want to melt a layer of warm wax into them, then hot scrape. if you want to be really pimp, do it twice (or if the bases are in bad shape). you're trying to draw out all the old wax, which may also be for temp ranges that don't suit your conditions. a fresh start, if you will.

as the structure you want on the bases? if not, now would be the time to flatten the bases, scrape off old p-tex/dried base, and put the desired structure. [you could do this first -- doesn't matter as the only thing the earlier step is trying to accomplish is to clean the base.]

then, hotbox away.

yes, hotboxing is all that. great for new skis in particular, but it helps for all skis. definitely allows for deep penetration of the wax into the base, which does help in keeping the base running faster, longer.

good luck!

(you can make your own hotbox with some wood and a lightbulb.)

[single]

Just wondering what hot boxing a ski does...

[Steven S. Dallas]

I was going to say, Rub some Tussin on them.

By the way, justalittleguy hasn't been updated for quite some time.

[kidwoo]

kidwoo -
what the folks above say is right.

you want to melt a layer of warm wax into them, then hot scrape. if you want to be really pimp, do it twice (or if the bases are in bad shape). you're trying to draw out all the old wax, which may also be for temp ranges that don't suit your conditions. a fresh start, if you will.

as the structure you want on the bases? if not, now would be the time to flatten the bases, scrape off old p-tex/dried base, and put the desired structure. [you could do this first -- doesn't matter as the only thing the earlier step is trying to accomplish is to clean the base.]

then, hotbox away.

yes, hotboxing is all that. great for new skis in particular, but it helps for all skis. definitely allows for deep penetration of the wax into the base, which does help in keeping the base running faster, longer.

good luck!

(you can make your own hotbox with some wood and a lightbulb.)

You know where I live. All I OWN is warm wax I've got friends in hot boxing/tuning kind of places so I can get them ground and fixed up purty before cooking and for less hassle than building my own.

Thanks for the info. I knew this one would be up your alley.

Just wondering what hot boxing a ski does...

Allows the fart to last longer.

Heats the ski with wax on it for a longer period allowing the wax to penetrate deeper into the bases. Makes the initial treatment like a 20 day waxing and all subsequent waxing lasts longer. Make go real fast for long time.

By the way, justalittleguy hasn't been updated for quite some time.

I know.......I'm bummed. I think he gave up. Or found a girlfriend.

[SchralphMacchio]

Hot scraping is awesome. I bought a hardly used, but 6 seasons old board that was sitting in someone's garage for a long time. I hot scraped 5 times before re-finishing the base and laying in a coat of universal wax.

The board rides smooth and fast.

Hot scraping really is all that. I've done tunes with, and without, and the ones with hot scrapes first are always faster, especially in the spring when you get all that pollenny crap in your pores. It's like biore strips, but for your bases!

I've never had my shit get so out of whack that I've needed to hotbox, but I've seen some really dried out bases, and I can't imagine there is any better thing to do than hotboxing.

[upallnight]

You know where I live. All I OWN is warm wax I've got friends in hot boxing/tuning kind of places so I can get them ground and fixed up purty before cooking and for less hassle than building my own.

Thanks for the info. I knew this one would be up your alley.

i was giving you the benefit of the doubt. i figured MAYbe you were going to get your ass over to jackson and that you were TRYing to prep some SICK new long/fat/stiff pow skis you scored, just for the trip.

i know all you own is wax for warm temps (60+ degrees, right?) and that you rock a base structure so fine you'd need an electron microscope to see the ridges.

[the make-your-own was just a nod to anyone else who might read this later. it would be trivial to make. not that i've done it, but i've thought about it. i wish someone would hotbox all my skis for me.]

[Wasatch_Expat]

[the make-your-own was just a nod to anyone else who might read this later. it would be trivial to make. not that i've done it, but i've thought about it. i wish someone would hotbox all my skis for me.]

I'm intrigued by the idea of a "build your own" hot box. How deep of a box? Where to position the light bulb(s)? What type and wattage of bulb would you use? I'm assuming you'd want to position the skis bases up with the bulb above the bases but not sure.

[Conundrum]

Allows the fart to last longer.

Heats the ski with wax on it for a longer period allowing the wax to penetrate deeper into the bases. Makes the initial treatment like a 20 day waxing and all subsequent waxing lasts longer. Make go real fast for long time.

.

It also makes your bases stronger. A well prepped base prevents scratches and core shots from happening as easy.

I'm intrigued by the idea of a "build your own" hot box. How deep of a box? Where to position the light bulb(s)? What type and wattage of bulb would you use? I'm assuming you'd want to position the skis bases up with the bulb above the bases but not sure.

There were some plans floating around tech talk for some or I bet Greenwoods would let you take a peek at theirs.

[njfreeskier]

I got a new pair of skis hot boxed last year and I'm pretty sold on the results.

I've got another pair I've skied on about a season and a half that I want to do this to as well.

I can do this right?

Do I need to clean the bases excessively with some gnarly base cleaner or anything?

it can definitley be done on used skis, and will breathe new life in to them. i don't think u need to or should use basecleaner. i'd use a coarse brush(bronze or steel) and brush the bases a few times. then hot wax. hot wax really does help clean the bases. you could repeat that process one more time if the wax you're scraping off looks really dirty. id brush again after i hot waxed to open up the structure of the bases a little more to allow for maximum seepage durage hotboxing.

[Wasatch_Expat]

I bet Greenwoods would let you take a peek at theirs.

Stopped by Greenwood's on my lunch break to look at theirs. It's literally just a big plywood box with a heating element inside (I did not get to look inside, as they were baking skis at that time).

I figure for the price of a hot box waxing or two, I could build a box myself. So here's the deal--I'm thinking really hard about trying to build one in my garage, but I can't really justify it for my own needs. Any Boise mags that would also be interested in using it, let me know. If there's enough interest, I'll make it more or less public access but would appreciate if folks kicked in a few bucks to offset the cost of materials.

Also, I mentioned hot boxing to a coworker who was skeptical about it for non-racers just because of the potential to harm skis/bindings. He seemed concerned that baking skis could lead to delam issues and other problems. Doesn't seem like it would get the skis any hotter than ironing the bases does, but it would be for an extended period. I can't see how it would harm a mechanical binding, though. Any thoughts on this?

[kidwoo]

Only way I could see it harming the ski is if there's moisture already in the ski that may cause some gas expansion under heat.

I leave my skis inside for a while to warm them evenly before waxing them anyway. They should be dry when I take them to get cooked but something to think about.

[02sedona]

The hotbox usually for a soft wax is 125 degrees and for very cold temp waxes gets up to around 145 degrees. You need to get your skis to 160 or higher for delam issues to occur. It is easy to screw this up with a home made box that gets too hot or has poor circulation inside. Remember to apply more wax to you ski when trying to hotbox and to do a long enough cycle to get good penetration. The length of the cycle matters too for the type of wax you are using. Remember to not put any citrus or base cleaner on your own skis. Brushing your bases between cycles will help the base structure and help make the bases ski faster.

[upallnight]

Doesn't seem like it would get the skis any hotter than ironing the bases does, but it would be for an extended period. I can't see how it would harm a mechanical binding, though. Any thoughts on this?

this is the wrong way to think about it.

if one melts wax with an iron, the iron is at a high temperature because it's only getting a momentary pass to heat the base and let the wax melt in. with a hotbox, you're doing the whole process at a lower temp, but for longer.

think of it as the difference between microwaving your meat of choice vs. putting it in a slow-cooker all day. which one tastes better or is more effective? what is the meat experiencing, temp-wise, for each one?

The hotbox usually for a soft wax is 125 degrees and for very cold temp waxes gets up to around 145 degrees. You need to get your skis to 160 or higher for delam issues to occur.

02sedona's right that it is possible to screw it up.

that said, a plywood box big enough for 1 pair of skis and a low-wattage lightbulb is pretty easy and inexpensive. leaving skis overnight is enough to do the trick.

you can definitely be more techy about it -- but one can also go to town on waxing and tuning. kind of like the difference between being satisfied with universal wax vs. waxing every day for the prevailing snow temps. the hotbox i described above is appropriate for someone more inclined to do the universal thing.

it would be easy to put a thermometer in there to test it (before you run it with skis). too hot? use a lower wattage bulb. still too hot? go even lower. not hot enough? you get the idea...................

[UTpowder]

This does what for deep penetration?


The penetration man!! FOCUS!!




Dave: heh......kind of what I'm thinking....

Pobably wrong here but I always thought a good brushing "opend up" the ski to allow for more wax penetration.

[CG]

After reading this I got curious about building a hot box. This is what I found...

http://www.nordicskiracer.com/cgi-bi...asp?NewsID=448

Seems pretty easy to build and a lost cheaper then some of the commercial versions out there.

[kidwoo]

Pobably wrong here but I always thought a good brushing "opend up" the ski to allow for more wax penetration.

For some reason I thought you meant a good brushing and then a normal hot wax......not a good brushing in direct answer to my question about preparation before hot boxing. I'm a little dense.


Plus I just wanted to type penetration with gusto.

[UTpowder]

For some reason I thought you meant a good brushing and then a normal hot wax......not a good brushing in direct answer to my question about preparation before hot boxing. I'm a little dense.


Plus I just wanted to type penetration with gusto.

Hows that?