Roto brush questions

[DEVO]

Just started using a roto brush. For now just using a horsehair roto after scraping. The first one I ordered started losing bristles right away. Contacted the place I ordered from just to ask if that was normal. They were great, said not normal to lose that many bristles and sent me another brush. New one has been much better, but I just started noticing a few bristles on the ski (have only used the new brush for probably half a dozen pairs so far). Not nearly as many bristles coming out of the new brush as compared to the first brush (which I still have).

So is it normal to lose a few bristles here and there? I have used both brushes on a cordless drill on the slower speed setting, and using light to medium pressure when brushing. Enough pressure to get the brush working.

[lemonhead]

In my experience the horse hair does lose a few more compared to the courser nylon brushes.

[mattig]

Name brand (i.e. Swix) or cheap one? I once got brushes from XC-Man (I think?) via Amazon. The rotor was bent and bristles started coming out immediately.

I still won't pay for Swix, but the RaceWax set I got this year has been perfect so far.

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[dunfree]

What’s “slower speed”

[stuckathuntermtn]

Damn, that's really disappointing to hear about the XC Man ones. I've been looking at those. Roto finish is sexy af.

[mattig]

Damn, that's really disappointing to hear about the XC Man ones. I've been looking at those. Roto finish is sexy af.

I mean, they seem like more than a fly by night company, so with free returns, no harm in checking it out. Maybe I caught them at a bad time. This was 4-ish years ago, give or take.

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[DEVO]

What’s “slower speed”

The cordless drill has two speeds and I have been using the slower of the two speeds for the rotobrush. If you’re asking how fast or the rpm, I have no idea.

[DEVO]

Name brand (i.e. Swix) or cheap one? I once got brushes from XC-Man (I think?) via Amazon. The rotor was bent and bristles started coming out immediately.

I still won't pay for Swix, but the RaceWax set I got this year has been perfect so far.

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..these are from Racewax

[Core Shot]

https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Leathe.../dp/B01F9YVJ9C

$17

[mattig]

Bummer to hear it's RaceWax. Hopefully I avoid the same fate.

https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Leathe.../dp/B01F9YVJ9C

$17

Used that one for a long time. It's just not the right tool for the job. But the bristles stay put.



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[DEVO]

Bummer to hear it's RaceWax. Hopefully I avoid the same

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Like I said in the first post, the second one they sent has been much better, just a few loose bristles here and there. The couple of times I’ve had to contact Racewax about something, the customer service has been great.

[prsboogie]

Name brand (i.e. Swix) or cheap one? I once got brushes from XC-Man (I think?) via Amazon. The rotor was bent and bristles started coming out immediately.

I still won't pay for Swix, but the RaceWax set I got this year has been perfect so far.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I have the XC Man and so far so good. About 10 pair and no issues. Watch, next time I use it the fucking thing will be bald!

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[mattig]

Like I said in the first post, the second one they sent has been much better, just a few loose bristles here and there. The couple of times I’ve had to contact Racewax about something, the customer service has been great.

Retention and comprehension is a constant struggle over here.

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[Djongo Unchained]

There is a large variety of bristle stiffnesses. Horsehair is on the softer end of that spectrum and is typically used more to clean and polish. I like the SVST brand.

Get a nylon one for initial post wax scraping. Probably still too much wax is pulling out the hair. A brass brush for cleaning out the structure is good to start with as well.

[prsboogie]

There is a large variety of bristle stiffnesses. Horsehair is on the softer end of that spectrum and is typically used more to clean and polish. I like the SVST brand.

Get a nylon one for initial post wax scraping. Probably still too much wax is pulling out the hair. A brass brush for cleaning out the structure is good to start with as well.

So I always brass, HH then nylon for the final shine. No?

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[mattig]

So I always brass, HH then nylon for the final shine. No?

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I was told by someone smarter than me brass then horse hair. And I was also told the only reason to brush very much is if the skis next time hitting snow will be at the top of a race course.

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[dcpnz]

I always use brass then nylon when hand brushing.
For some reason I did not get a brass roto - first they’re quite expensive but i also seem to recall following swix recommendation and assumed it was to use softer brushes due to higher roto speed.
But the hh and nylon i have dont clean out structure at all well - think i need to get a brass roto.

[Djongo Unchained]

For me it goes: scrape, brass or hard nylon brush to clean out wax from structure, all by hand. Then roto with a medium soft nylon, then Horsehair or really soft nylon. Sweep it clean then burnish it with my hands.

Slick skis pay.

[Roxtar]

Another vote for the SVST. In fact, most of their stuff is top notch.
I really like their brass/horsehair combo followed by a soft horsehair (hand, not roto) buff.

[DEVO]

I brass hand brush first, wax, scrape, horsehair roto brush, then mix of scotch brite pad and soft bristle horsehair hand brush to finish.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I mean, they seem like more than a fly by night company, so with free returns, no harm in checking it out. Maybe I caught them at a bad time. This was 4-ish years ago, give or take.

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I ordered a side edge guide and called the support number on it to double check the orientation of it, and that number must forward to the dude's cellphone and he answered it and my questions.

[stuckathuntermtn]

And it goes coarser to softer with brushes. Finish with a buff pad.

[Dee Hubbs]

New to the roto-brush world. I understand the bush order, just curious if there is a recommended drill speed?

[Alpinord]

New to the roto-brush world. I understand the bush order, just curious if there is a recommended drill speed?

From here:

To protect the eyes we recommend the use of protective glasses whenever working with rotating brushes. Make sure no one is standing close to the drill without eye protection.

With the exception of the brass and horsehair brushes having a rotating speed of approx. 800 per minute -the normal working speed is between 2500 and 3000 rpm without using any pressure on the rotating brushes.

Brushing out like professionals:
Before waxing:
Brass brush: To be used before waxing for the pre-cleaning of the ski base. The recommended rotating speed is approx. 800 per minute. Please work only with single shaft with plexi hood without
using any pressure.
– After drawing (scraping) off the wax layer using the acrylic glass blade (plexi-scraper):
First step: Remaining wax is brushed out of the base using the horsehair brush. This gives the base a matte surface whereby wax-residues remain at the depth of the base structures.
Second step: The remaining wax of the base structure is brushed out using the nylon brush until
no wax particles are visible anymore. Now the base has to be polished for getting a perfect High-Glass finish.
The black nylon brush is especially suitable for polishing with optimum finish for all waxes. Can be used as a universal brush.

Regarding brush stiffness: it is a function of bristle length. Soft brushes have longer bristles. Hard brushes, short.

[comish]

Before waxing seems universal with the brass slow w/ minimal pressure.

Post waxing / scraping I have read both ways:
-Horsehair then nylon and vice versa. Generally higher rpm than the brass.

Why? It always seemed like one would want to go stiffer to softer. I suppose it could have something to do with stiffness of the nylon since those vary? Can anyone give more insight into this?

The skis do look sexy AF after and slide good too. Only reason I went this route was for kids racing skis. When I have to do a bunch, the roto is faster than by hand. I started doing my own to better understand and attempt to feel the differences.

I have the Race wax and the Sidecut ones. Both seem fine, for the TGR crew I would go wider than the 100mm Race Wax ones and prefer the 120mm Sidecut ones. These seemed like the most cost effective wider ones I found. SVST are generally awesome, but $$$ in my experience.