Can this be fixed?

[Aidan319]

Hey everyone, I just bought a pair of skis (second hand) and after the first day with them I've done this

- I have 0 knowledge about gouges and I'm not sure, can I fix this myself or should I take this to an expert?

-Have I done it myself or it's been there before I bought them (I checked the base when I bought them and it was perfectly fine) and the PTex fell off when I ski'd?


Thanks in advance!

[SoVT Joey]

It looks old. It cracked out from skiing. I vote for take it to a shop, unless you own some stuff to deal with it. But that didn’t sound like it was the case.

[bigdude2468]

I have seen a lot worse than this get fixed without any further problems.

[Spyderjon]

That looks like a core shot that's been incorrectly repaired by just filling with p-tex and as p-tex won't bond to the core material it just cracks and falls out as the ski flexes. The dodgy repairs needs removing and the repair done properly by first welding in a very thin metalgrip foundation layer and then welding in the p-tex on top. It's 10 mins of work with a bit of cooling time in the middle. Easy to DIY if you get the right equipment.

[tuco]

Jon's correct.
That's a repair someone tried to melt w fire and ptex, where a weld should be. Melting ptex makes the ptex very brittle. This method should only be used to fill dings and scratches. Simple repair. Cut out and reweld. I don't think that weld will require metal grip.

[ill-advised strategy]

Lots of youtube content on how to repair these.

You’re going to have to make a workspace and buy some tools and supplies.
A competent shop can handle this no problem, but iffy shops that don’t do a lot of serious repair will often just slather candle ptex over it and the repair will quickly fail. You need a good shop that will do it correctly.

One of the best uses of this forum is finding a good (vs iffy) repair shop or individual ski tech in your area...sometimes there’s nobody who does good work and you have to become that guy.

[prsboogie]

That looks like a core shot that's been incorrectly repaired by just filling with p-tex and as p-tex won't bond to the core material it just cracks and falls out as the ski flexes. The dodgy repairs needs removing and the repair done properly by first welding in a very thin metalgrip foundation layer and then welding in the p-tex on top. It's 10 mins of work with a bit of cooling time in the middle. Easy to DIY if you get the right equipment.

Weld vs drip??? Asking for a friend...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[ill-advised strategy]

Yeah, so dripping with a candle is why this thing is all cracky in the first place. The product of the drippy candle is brittle, so it doesn’t do well stretched over long thick gouges.
Welding used a hot probe, soldering iron kinda thing to melt a different material (different than the candles) and bond a more rubbery kind of material called metal-grip to the core and then bond (by melting together, hence “weld”) a surface ptex to the metalgrip layer and ideally melt together a little to bond with the edges of the gouge.

You can also cut out a rectangle and use a high quality epoxy and a patch of ptex to repair a big core shot.

There are lots of online references on this stuff. Search them out.

[kootenayskier]

If you’re gouging skis with any regularity, a basic repair kit doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Provided you have somewhere to work, get a simple base repair iron, a few tools and supplies, and for the cost of a couple of shop repairs you’re self sufficient.

https://www.tognar.com/tognar-p-tex-...on-120v-us-ca/

[ill-advised strategy]

Re: weld vs drip terminology:

Picture two ice cubes.

They’re separate, they clink around, they don’t stick to each other.
If you drip some water drops over the ice cubes you can get some connection and fill between them but they’re still kinda mostly separate chunks prone to breaking apart. But warm them up into one puddle, then refreeze...now it’s all one chunk. That’s welding! You liquify two pieces with heat and they cool as one bonded piece.

[RShea]

If you take it to a shop that does base welding properly, it should hold much better than someone that just took some ptex and covered over the damage just to have the repair fail and come loose and fall out as you skied... The shop would prepare the ski base, use not just ptex as mentioned but material to adhere to the ski core base and then fill. If you want to do this yourself, plenty of videos out there on You Tube and as stated you would need some tools (which maybe already on a tool bench and could be repurposed or you may have to purchase (In which case it could be cheaper to have a good shop do it right.) SOme just repurpose a Soldering iron to heat and then you would want not just ptex sticks but the Base welding repair material, and ways to then flatten the base material so it is even and smooth.

https://www.tognar.com/base_repair_t...lphaasc&page=1 is one source of the tools and materials (of course knowing the best way to prepare and clean up the damage to best accept and hold the repair- just like a painting job or some auto body work making sure the surface you are applying and covering is able to adhere the repair material is key.

[prsboogie]

Re: weld vs drip terminology:

Picture two ice cubes.

They’re separate, they clink around, they don’t stick to each other.
If you drip some water drops over the ice cubes you can get some connection and fill between them but they’re still kinda mostly separate chunks prone to breaking apart. But warm them up into one puddle, then refreeze...now it’s all one chunk. That’s welding! You liquify two pieces with heat and they cool as one bonded piece.

Basically like a glue gun style extruder. I've dripped before for small nicks and scratches. Never had anything deep enough thankfully

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[MagnificentUnicorn]

You could just lay some black JB Weld in there, plane it smooth after it cures, wax like usual and pretend it never happened. I bet you wouldn’t know the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Aidan319]

Thank you so much everyone for your help.

I will try THIS in the first place, if it doesn't work I will take it to a shop:

You could just lay some black JB Weld in there, plane it smooth after it cures, wax like usual and pretend it never happened. I bet you wouldn’t know the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[ill-advised strategy]

fwiw: I like using this stuff better than traditional jb:

https://www.quiksteel.com/16502tri-p...-blister-card/

Also “aquamend”

[MagnificentUnicorn]

fwiw: I like using this stuff better than traditional jb:

https://www.quiksteel.com/16502tri-p...-blister-card/

Also “aquamend”

That looks good too. With the steel particles does it rust?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[ill-advised strategy]

That looks good too. With the steel particles does it rust?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Not so far.

I wonder if the plastic-focused formation has any metal in it or if that’s just a packaging artifact from the other main metal-focused formula.

[XXX-er]

I might try pure petex with a soldering iron or more likely i would just leave it cuz that is not a bad booboo

[El Chupacabra]

Thank you so much everyone for your help.

I will try THIS in the first place, if it doesn't work I will take it to a shop:

I wouldn't use JB Weld and then bring it to a shop, unless you like ridicule and surcharges. JB Weld is not a great solution here.

Cut out that shitty drip candle repair and base weld it. Spend some time reading the repair thread and DIY. Not hard.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I wouldn't use JB Weld and then bring it to a shop, unless you like ridicule and surcharges. JB Weld is not a great solution here.

Cut out that shitty drip candle repair and base weld it. Spend some time reading the repair thread and DIY. Not hard.

For a freeride powder ski an epoxy repair is fine. Who cares if you’re ridiculed? Are you that insecure?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[El Chupacabra]

You do your repairs however you like.

[Core Shot]

3inch gouge. Badly repaired before you bought them.

Pay the money for a real base weld. $30 bucks or so

Unless you regularly core shot, then invest in proper equipment . . I own a ptex welder. It’s my life. Candles are worthless

[old goat]

Doing it yourself will probably cost more than taking it to the shop--but worth it if you expect to have to do more repairs. If you do it yourself it will likely look like a repair but functionally fine. If you take it to a good shop it will probably be hard to tell it's been repaired. They'll usually want to grind the base after they're done to make everything look smooth. That can increase the price. A lot depends on what you paid for the skis, what kind of ski they are--powder, race--and what shape the rest of the ski is in. If you take it to Big Sky you can probably get a great repair cheap--they're the world exerts on fixing core shots.

[Talisman]

If you take it to Big Sky you can probably get a great repair cheap--they're the world exerts on fixing core shots.

Big Sky is the land of JB Weld repaired core shots particularly in a low snow seasons like this one, though there are great repair techs here too. My bride's route ski bases from patrol are a tangle of interlocked core shots and JB Weld.

[yeahman]

Big Sky is the land of JB Weld repaired core shots particularly in a low snow seasons like this one, though there are great repair techs here too. My bride's route ski bases from patrol are a tangle of interlocked core shots and JB Weld.

I've been using JB Marine Weld for BS core shots with great results.