Ski Waxing

[Peter Minde]

I do a full tune and hot wax at the end of the season. I sharpen the side edge of my hard snow skis with a Swix EVO electric grinder every 2 or 3 days, and use liquid wax on warm days. I don't use cold snow waxes because I can't control the heat with my Mom's iron well enough, and I'm too old to ski really cold days anyway. My friends all tell me I'm wasting time with liquid wax, but they all want to borrow it in the spring.

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It would be worth your while to buy a Swix or other brand wax iron. I'm going to upgrade to an iron with a digital thermostat in the near future. I don't use any of them, but there are some good liquid gliders for nordic skis.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

It would be worth your while to buy a Swix or other brand wax iron. I'm going to upgrade to an iron with a digital thermostat in the near future. I don't use any of them, but there are some good liquid gliders for nordic skis.

Mom's best iron is working OK for my once a year wax schedule. I won't use it waxes that need high temperatures because it's not very well controlled. The next upgrade will be a solid iron that I can heat on my temperature controlled induction stove. That would give good control and eliminate cord rassling.
Be careful about those electronic irons. A top line iron with a PID controller is a really nice thing to work with, but I think some of them are just mechanical thermostats with a digital display added. That's not any better than adding a meat thermometer to my mom's iron. You'll have a number to see, but you're still gonna have the same hot and cold spots and overall instability.

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[Kingslug]

Bought all my stuff from Race Place. Beast. I tend to beat the crap out of all my skis so I'm ptexting and sharpening and waxing a lot. I don't overdo it on the sharpen though..My good skis have very hard bases so they stand up to abuse better. They're are differences in ski bases. Needs a little research but you can find out..usually from the manufacturer. Problem with super hard bases is they don't take ptext too well..have to solder it in.

 

[marcski]

I used to be really neurotic about tuning. I'd touch up the side edges with diamond stones and wax every 2-3 days or so. I have a whole toolbag filled with ski tuning tools, sharpeners, edge guides, base planes, wax, a couple of ski irons and then some. Now, I don't really do it often. I keep the edges of my race skis clean and sharp by not skiing off-piste. I waxed them maybe 3x and haven't touched the edges in a year since I got them...probably around 20 days on them. They will still cut your finger. My daily drivers look like hell, but hey, that's what they're for especially with the terrain I ski, I can't complain. More importantly, I still get as much or more enjoyment skiing now as I did when my skis were perfect all the time. I haven't brought a pair of skis in for any professional work in 10 years. Now, I save the money and keep my eyes out for good deals in the off-season and buy new skis and do whatever works needs to be done myself. I still like to work on my skis when I have the time but as long as I have one pair of skis with edges, I'm good to go.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Problem with super hard bases is they don't take ptext too well..have to solder it in.

Do you use metal grip?

 

[ScottySkis]

Nope. Never felt the need. When I waxed at home, I did not use more than universal wax. At my home mountain usually the temp range is 25-45 degrees. I've never been interested in racing. Or high speed carving for that matter. As far as I know, racing or really frigid temps in below zero would be the only reason to wax in addition to having Phantom in bases.

Did u due the phantom by hand or have u local ski shop due it
They sell first phantom on eBay for about 40$ my first time with the product when I buy it later this week
I might try doing my self

 

[MarzNC]

Did u due the phantom by hand or have u local ski shop due it
They sell first phantom on eBay for about 40$ my first time with the product when I buy it later this week
I might try doing my self

I did all my skis at home. Helps to live in NC so have plenty of sun during the winter. Treated the first pair with Ver 1.0 in early Jan after the Kickstarter. Last pair was done with Ver 2.0 last Nov. Just never got around to it during the warm days. I think supposed to be okay with temps over mid-30s. Ver 1.0 needed temps over 50 I think.

Ver 1.0 requires 3 hours of good sun for Parts A & B. Ver 2.0 only needs 1 hour per part. There is a one part Ver 2.0. That formula is what is used at ski shops that have a Cure Station.

I did a stone grind on one pair of skis since they needed it any way. One pair was brand new and never waxed. With the others I just did a fair amount of hand brushing beforehand.

The skis I treated with Ver 1.0 were stone ground last spring. They are my daily drivers for skiing in the east, mostly on manmade snow. Really nice not to have to wax every 2-3 ski days. Or worry when temps get into the 40s.

January 2018, Ver 1.0 arrived the week of a snowstorm. This was my front yard. I was headed back to Massanutten that weekend and determined to test out Phantom.

November 2018 using Ver 2.0, did 3 pairs of relatively short skis with 2 kits

 

[ScottySkis]

Thanks you
For that much appreciated

 

[MarzNC]

Here's what bases look like with DPS Phantom.

The ski on the right is after curing in the sun and before brushing out. Ski on the left was brushed with the little brush that comes in the kit. Wouldn't want to use a good waxing brush and get the residue stuck in it.

All these bases were treated with Phantom. The shortest ones have Ver. 1.0 and tend to look more like unwaxed skis. But the glide is fine in all conditions. Have done one stone grind so far. The far right pair (2011 BP bulls) didn't get a stone grind before I treated with Ver. 2.0. They are rock skis. Did great at Alta during late season when temps were in the 40s or 50s at the base by lunch time. Way more fun than my all-mountain ski that didn't have Phantom yet. The good wax job I did at home before the trip only lasted one morning.

 

[Scrundy]

Is that SR 95 ?