What does scraping off excess wax REALLY do? Seems like a waste of time?

[Buzzworthy]

If you learn to drip the right amount on you can get skis or a board pretty damn smooth without ridges of wax or too much excess.

Besides possible going a bit faster with a scraped and buffed base, it there a scietific reason to do this? I ponder this last night over a few beers and a ptex/wax party in my sunroom and wondered what the collective had to say.


Spew forth.

[72Twenty]

IMO it is not necessary unless you are trying to win the town downhill to score a kiss on the cheek from the rodeo queen. Obviously I would scrape down globs that are really sticking up, but as you say, if you use the right amount of wax, you shouldn't have to. When I tune skis for other people, I scrape them down and make them look all purdy, but my own I just slap some wax on, brush it and scotch-brite pad it to structure it a little.

[INDY GS]

I think for general uses, not really that necessary to geta completly scrapped clean base. But only depending on conditions. if the snow is really dry, you might grip alot more with that excess wax.

I prefer to scrape, cork and brush my bases for a smooth finish. It is faster, and spending the time with my skis is almost zenlike. trying to get that perfect base finish.

It also allows more time to drink beer.

As far as applying wax, i have found a better way to apply and not waste wax is to dab the wax on the iron, then dab to ski, repeat, all the way down the length. kind of smearing the semi-melted stick of wax like deoderant to the base, then take the iron smooth the wax out, let cool briefly and scrape.

[summit]

just so long as the layer isnt thick or uneven, the snow will quickly scrape it for you

[L7]

I'm with IndyGS, generally who gives a crap it just wastes wax. For really dry and or cold snow though getting that layer really smooth is the only thing to stop you from feeling like you're skiing on sand paper.

[Vicious]

Question: I recently got a stick of the red Purl wax (I usually use Swix). Upon applying the wax and letting it set for a couple hours, I went to scrape it and some of the wax just chipped off all the way down to the base...it was like it didn't adhere to the base at all in spots. Is this due to the wax being too hot when applied or some other reason (as I've never had this happen before)?

Also, how many of you wear a mask when you are waxing several pairs of sticks??

(Partial thread hijack)

[L7]

Question: I recently got a stick of the red Purl wax (I usually use Swix). Upon applying the wax and letting it set for a couple hours, I went to scrape it and some of the wax just chipped off all the way down to the base...it was like it didn't adhere to the base at all in spots. Is this due to the wax being too hot when applied or some other reason (as I've never had this happen before)?

Also, how many of you wear a mask when you are waxing several pairs of sticks??

(Partial thread hijack)

Really hard cold snow wax does this quite a bit I've found in the past. Not sure what this red Purl wax is though.

Mask just ruins the buzz.

[Vicious]

The red Purl wax is supposedly mid/all temp.

[yesIsaidyes]

if the wax is chipping, you may be pressing too hard with the scraper and the wax is probably a hard cold weather type...for general purpose, I stick with Swix CH6-7 or Toko Red/Yellow System 3 - they are cheap, don't require too much heat, and scrape really easily.

P-tex if fast, wax is not. If you don't scrape all the wax off and do a proper brushing, you will not only lose speed (and potentially get left behind) you will also sacrifice control of the boards as wax will come off unevenly. Proper brushing and structure is way more important than even the right temp. wax. Sure, you can get punk points for not scraping but as with most folks on this board, obsession over details to increase performance is my main focus with waxing as with all else. Buy a copper or steel/nylon finishing brush and give it 20 good passes after scraping, it doesn't take long and its much better for the skis.

[Professor]

Chipping of wax can also be from the ski not being warmed up enough when you wax it or scraping it before it has a chance to completely cool. I try to bring the skis in the house for an hour or two before I wax and then I let them sit for 15 minutes or so before I ever scrape. Also make sure when you are using the iron you heat the ski just so it is warm to the touch. You dont want to melt it but if you heat the base just a bit it will absorb more wax. Hope that helps. Oh and back to the original questions, always scrape and always brush, not doing so defeats the whole point of waxing in the first place

[sar13]

Wax will tend to chip off if it wasn't heated enough and didn't bond properly with the base. Thats why it often happens with colder waxes. They require more heat to melt into the base. Moving the iron down the base of the ski slowly I like to see an inch or two of molten wax along the base behind the iron.

As far as not scraping: It's slower but not the end of the world. However, be carefull putting skins on after not scraping. The excess wax can stick to the glue and (temporarily) ruin the skins. A buddy did this to his girlfriends skins - Bad Move!

[tranzformer]

Leaving the wax on also helps protect the skis from early season rocks/trees sticking up IMO.

[bagtagley]

I've got a question. Though I've read that flouro waxes are non-toxic, whenever I wax my skis, I get this tickly feeling in my lungs. I have a temp gauge on my iron, and the wax isn't smoking, so I know it's not too hot.

I bought a big brick of wax from my local shop, so I suppose it could actually be hydro wax, but I doubt it. Does anybody else have this problem? Does anybody use a breathing mask while waxing?

[PNWbrit]

Leaving the wax on also helps protect the skis from early season rocks/trees sticking up IMO.

no.............

[El Chupacabra]

Leaving the wax on also helps protect the skis from early season rocks/trees sticking up IMO.

I haven't tried this, but wouldn't you need a really thick layer of wax to provide any protection like this? (so thick it would make the ski handle funny)

[Buzzworthy]

It also allows more time to drink beer.

This is NOT a problem I have.


I am really more talking the board on pow, why scrape? Seems like the wax last longer on the board if no scrape and a light brushing. I keep more speed that way it seems.


As for masks, when I ptex, it gives off cyanide gas (so I have been told) so I just keep all the windows and doors open in my sunroom/mud room and if a big job, a mask. Wax, ah, no precatations besides open air again. Was a shop monkey for years in HS, so I do what I did then.

I scrape my skis and brush em smooth, but not on the board. Seems to work better for me. Using all temp wax this last night as had nothing else at the time.


Now, I used to race on the EC and would spend over an hour on the wax and base to get every fraction of a second, but boarding the pow in Utah, seems like a waste of time.

[Buzzworthy]

I haven't tried this, but wouldn't you need a really thick layer of wax to provide any protection like this? (so thick it would make the ski handle funny)

No, it is only wax. Too soft.

But of course I do wax base and edges of board and skis at end of season for garage protection.


Just wondering what the consensus was. I am not in a race, so screw scraping.

[andrewjesaitis]

just so long as the layer isnt thick or uneven, the snow will quickly scrape it for you

I agree, if you aren't racing, after a couple runs there isn't any excess wax on the base and the base feels the same as if I scrapped my base really well. I usually just give it a quick scape though so it isn't quite so slow on the first run...

[Greydon Clark]

I’m going skiing tomorrow and my skis are covered in their summer wax. I’m not going to scrap them or anything, but I’m going night skiing and I don’t care about performance.

Anyway, as others have pointed out, not scrapping defeats the purpose of waxing. (Also, in warm snow, you’ll pick-up a lot of dirt.) Then again, most people don’t bother to wax. Me, I enjoy waxing skis and, generally, I scrape and brush them.

[Buzzworthy]

Anyway, as others have pointed out, not scrapping defeats the purpose of waxing.

I'm not convinced.

If you put a thin layer on and iron it right, I have not ONE ridge on the board. So why scrape? I did buff, but not scrape, just to glide a bit better. But I have such a thin ironed in layer and nothing on the edges.


More spew!

[Buzzworthy]

just so long as the layer isnt thick or uneven, the snow will quickly scrape it for you

Missed this in reading to quick. I agree with Summit.

[XtrPickels]

I would love to see this cross posted at epic, they'd be going nuts, heads would be shaking, turning red, steaming, exploding.

I scrape and brush because I enjoy working on my skis. Its time alone, time thinking about the hill tomorrow, major stokage in my book.

I guess I've never skied without doing that so I can't say its bad to ski waxy skis.

[andrewjesaitis]

I'm not convinced.

If you put a thin layer on and iron it right, I have not ONE ridge on the board. So why scrape?

So the way I understand waxing to work is that you are not skiing on a layer of wax. The wax merely fills in all the tiny little holes and pores that are naturally in the base. Filling in all these holes decreases the fiction between the base (not wax layer) and snow. All the buffing etc does is make sure that there aren't any differences in height between the base and wax that has filled in the pores on the ski.

I think performance wise it doesn't matter if you scrape/buff/whatever after a couple runs. When I used to race, I can only think of one time that I can attribute losing to waxing. And that time was b/c I used the wrong temperature of wax on my skis the night before.

[PhishingME]

I've got a question. Though I've read that flouro waxes are non-toxic, whenever I wax my skis, I get this tickly feeling in my lungs.

I read the flouro is more damaging than the hydro, unless it's the green wax. Swix KGB 420 powder specific.

http://classic.mountainzone.com/gear/99/ski/tune/

[AH]

If you learn to drip the right amount on you can get skis or a board pretty damn smooth without ridges of wax or too much excess.

Besides possible going a bit faster with a scraped and buffed base, it there a scietific reason to do this? I ponder this last night over a few beers and a ptex/wax party in my sunroom and wondered what the collective had to say.


Spew forth.

8 more posts mang! (sorry bout this)