How to wax your own skis?
Waxing your skis yourself is easier than you thought. It's cheaper than paying someone else to do it and it's kind of fun (once you get the hang of it). It will make your skis faster and thewax will protect the base of your skis from oxidation.
When should youwax your skis?
Just before the start of the ski season. Throughout the winter, you should alsowax your skis if the soles look a little dry or have faded. At the end of the season, before you put them away for the summer.
Equipment required
- Iron waxing iron for skis (or old iron)
- Scraper (or piece of plexiglass of at least 5 mm)
- Block of wax
- Nylon brush
- Base cleaner (defacer)
- Cloth
The steps
- Set up in an appropriate room, as this operation is relatively dirty. Place a ski on a stable surface. If you don't have a workbench, chairs, boxes or even a stack of books will do.
- Clean the base of your ski with a defacer and a clean rag. Be aware that there are several environmentally friendly solutions. Find a solution that is biodegradable, non-toxic and does not give off harmful fumes.
- Heat the iron just enough to melt the wax. Be careful not to overheat the wax - find a temperature that melts the wax. wax easily but does not smoke on contact with the iron. Regular irons fluctuate more widely in temperature than irons specific to the wax and can easily be set too high, which could damage your base.
- Run the wax on the ski from the tip to the tail. Choose a wax wax rather than an ecological wax which contains ingredients that have a negative impact on the environment (such as fluorocarbons).
- Spread the wax with the iron from the tip to the tail at a uniform speed. Do not leave the iron in one place for too long or your ski will deteriorate. Make sure that the wax wax spreads all over your base, up to the edges of your ski. If not, add more wax.
- Let your ski cool for 5 to 10 minutes. During this time, you can perform the previous steps for your other ski.
- Scrape the wax with a dedicated scraper or a piece of plexiglass. Scrape with long strokes. Continue scraping until the wax no longer comes off in a spiral, but rather as a fine powder.
- Clean any residue left on the ski with a nylon brush. Go over the ski several times to get a smooth finish. This step is very important for backcountry skiers. The wax on your sole can affect the effectiveness of the adhesive on your skin.
Here is a video that quickly summarizes the previous steps:click here
