To wax or not to wax...

SkiDog · Feb 13, 2007

drjeff said:
If you don't want to wax the bases, then don't! It will just mean that on powder days, my freshly waxed skis will glide that much better and get me to the lift that much quicker, so my 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th tracks etc, will happen before yours!

What do you think you'll be there what????? 1 minute sooner??? cmon...even a ski that hasnt been waxed in YEARS will still slide pretty nicely..

M

awf170 · Feb 13, 2007

Marc said:
Although I'm kinda hoping Steve and Austin pop in to back me up on this. At any rate, not waxing your skis ever week is not a sign of being lazy with maintenance, intelligent, maybe; lazy, no.

I wax sometimes. I do think it is a nice feeling to have waxed skis but it is not a huge deal. The only time I think it is really important is in sticky spring snow. Besides waxing I do absolutely nothing to my skis. I'm pretty sure the huge holes in the base of my skis will slow me down more than no wax.

BTW: drjeff you will get to the bottom a lot faster than Marc, but not because of his wax. It is because he turns way too much.:razz:

Marc · Feb 14, 2007

kbroderick said:
Waxing doesn't just make your skis slide faster, it makes them slide more consistently, including when pivoting through a turn. If neither more consistent sliding nor faster gliding matters to you, then you probably have little reason to wax (other than, perhaps, to keep the base in better shape so that p-tex is better able to bond to it during repairs; however, I'm not sure how much difference the condition of the base matters in that scenario, anyhow).

So we get to the crux of the issue... what I've been saying since the begining of this absurd thread (made absurd by me, admittedly). I'd like to point out that I'm not anti waxing. All I've been doing this whole thread, while appearing extremely annoying and argumentative, is questioning the conventional wisdom... which by the way is typically a condratiction of terms. I stand by my original contentions.

The real point I was trying to make is, think about what you're doing, and why you're doing it, especially when it comes to maintaining equipment.

As a side note, when filling holes in your base, the only way to really achieve good bonding, being that polyethylene is a thermoplastic, is to melt the surrounding area adjacent to the fix.

I wouldn't try this though, and most people probably don't because apparently there is a fairly small difference between the temperature at which UHMWPE melts and the temperature at which liquid PE begins to vaporize/pyrolize. Not to mention I can't think of a good way to attempt doing so....

Marc · Feb 14, 2007

awf170 said:
I wax sometimes. I do think it is a nice feeling to have waxed skis but it is not a huge deal. The only time I think it is really important is in sticky spring snow. Besides waxing I do absolutely nothing to my skis. I'm pretty sure the huge holes in the base of my skis will slow me down more than no wax.

BTW: drjeff you will get to the bottom a lot faster than Marc, but not because of his wax. It is because he turns way too much.:razz:

Well there you go.

I can't argue with any of that. Crap.

Marc · Feb 14, 2007

Jay's Dip Powcher said:
Well with all of this typing and resistance to drink the kool aid we are all drinking you could have waxed your skis about 5-7 times OR googled why it is important to wax your skis :lol:

Fair enough. Although I have googled the subject many times, because it used to interest me. I talked to lots of techs about it who all basically said the same things (and sounded like Swix salesman as well). I need to figure out who the thermoplastic expert in our research dept is...

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 14, 2007

i need a good pre-base wax...any suggestions?

eastcoastskiier · Feb 14, 2007

Marc said:
So we get to the crux of the issue... what I've been saying since the begining of this absurd thread (made absurd by me, admittedly). I'd like to point out that I'm not anti waxing. All I've been doing this whole thread, while appearing extremely annoying and argumentative, is questioning the conventional wisdom... which by the way is typically a condratiction of terms. I stand by my original contentions.

The real point I was trying to make is, think about what you're doing, and why you're doing it, especially when it comes to maintaining equipment.

As a side note, when filling holes in your base, the only way to really achieve good bonding, being that polyethylene is a thermoplastic, is to melt the surrounding area adjacent to the fix.

I wouldn't try this though, and most people probably don't because apparently there is a fairly small difference between the temperature at which UHMWPE melts and the temperature at which liquid PE begins to vaporize/pyrolize. Not to mention I can't think of a good way to attempt doing so....

i have heard of that as well, when workin on my skis if i have a larger gouge that needs repair i will hold the lighter next to the base for a few seconds just till i see it glaze a little and then immediatly start dripping the P-Tex..

on another note we had a kid come into the shop about a week back and he bought some P-tex sticks.. 3 days later he came back and said he thinks he did it wrong.. I guess he heard the same thing but he didnt pull the lighter away, and bubbled up his base... about
1in diameter part of the PE was lifted off the core... kinda crazy

56fish · Feb 15, 2007

SKIQUATTRO said:
i need a good pre-base wax...any suggestions?

Swix Base Prep. 60grams, about 8 bucks.:smile:

56fish · Feb 15, 2007

Sheik Yerbouti said:
Quick question(s), I recently had a mid-season tune on my new ski's, the bottoms are jet black, and I noticed bands of white under the binding area by the edges. I was told that was wear down from skiing.(I used to x-country ski alot, and did my own waxing, I found it to make the skiing alot more personal and enjoyable.) So, when I got them back the area under the bindings were still white around the edges, but the skis were definitely better, sharper edges, new wax, etc.
Question 1:
Is the white area normal and will it always stay that way?

Question 2:
Should I wax my skis per the weather, different wax for different temps and conditions. I don't mind the waxing, especially if it will improve the performance of my skis. I'll leave the edging and base touch-up to the pros.

Thanks

Don't know if this tidbit will influence - allowing bases to dry out may shrink the base material a bit. Leaving the edges a bit high, especially in the tips/tails of wider skis. This will influence your skiing enjoyment! Wax on!

marcski · Feb 15, 2007

I have a 7 y.o. pair of Atomic 920's. I don't think I have ever put them away for the summer with a freshly waxed base. I also might have them tuned 1-2x a year tops.

They are fast. I don't race..but have never been on them saying to myself "man i wished my skis were gliding faster now). The bases are fine (other than some dings and baseshots which have been generally repaired). While the bases are not shiny anymore and perhaps have what some of called "baseburn", they're solid. I have not noticed any difference in the way they glide...I have noticed that they, like all skis, have started to get tired...and don't have as much pop as when they were new. (I will buy a new pair soon...but I demo when I go away out west yearly).

So, I ask, given where and how I ski...why should I wax?

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 15, 2007

hey, your car is going to get dirty so why wash/wax/and do oil changes??? its just about taking care of your equipment. I am sure they are working fine for you.

eastcoastskiier · Feb 15, 2007

SKIQUATTRO said:
hey, your car is going to get dirty so why wash/wax/and do oil changes??? its just about taking care of your equipment. I am sure they are working fine for you.

and theres the ANSWER OF THE DAY!!! ding ding ding.. winner winner winner

SkiDog · Feb 16, 2007

SKIQUATTRO said:
hey, your car is going to get dirty so why wash/wax/and do oil changes??? its just about taking care of your equipment. I am sure they are working fine for you.

I wouldnt compare a cars maintenance with a skis....not really the same thing...the wear and damage not changing the oil would do to a car is apparent MUCH faster than you'd ever see in a non waxed ski....now washing....I know people who just dont believe in it...sure it'll hurt the resale value, but in the long run...thats about it, thats aesthetic.

I think the comparison is slightly flawed..

Just my .02

;-)

M

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 16, 2007

so you were the guy yesterday I saw in the parking lot using an ice scraper on the hood of the car....that wont hurt resale...

a wise man once said "Do what you like, like what you do" so if you dont like waxing and taking care of your gear, than dont, your entitled to it..

SkiDog · Feb 16, 2007

SKIQUATTRO said:
so you were the guy yesterday I saw in the parking lot using an ice scraper on the hood of the car....that wont hurt resale../QUOTE]

No that wasn't me...I was the one using the hammer.......

;-)

M

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 16, 2007

i honeslty wanted to sceam at them (a couple) he was doing the windows and she was scraping the hood with and ice scraper...ouch.

Terry · Feb 16, 2007

I just finished WAXING skis- because I think it is the right thing to do, and now I am sitting here checking out the skiing on the internet, sipping a couple of beers, and watching Greg Stump videos. I will be out on the slopes tomorrow if it kills me!
I havn't skied for almost 3 weeks because I f@#&%d up my back at work. I am skiing tomorrow though even if my dr and my wife think it is a bad idea! :beer:

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 17, 2007

did my wife's K2 One Luvs and my Atomics last night...just a quick deburr, 2 passes with the file, a quick wax....was all about 45 min downstairs last night with a few LTA Double Bags....everyone upstairs asleep....now its off with my Atomics to the shop to see if the cracked base is a manuf defect and I can grab me a new set of sticks!!!!

Birdman829 · Feb 19, 2007

SKIQUATTRO said:
i need a good pre-base wax...any suggestions?

Toko Universal Wax. 1 kg (4 - 250g bars) for $25 at Tognar. Probably gonna last me 25 years

And people need stop using the glide speed argument for waxing or not waxing. I think I notice smoother turns more than top end glide speed with nicely waxed skis. And that should be more important to most people than how fast they glide.

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 20, 2007

u use the Universal Wax (which i use) as a base prep wax too????

To wax or not to wax...

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