Rules and Resources

Tools needed

• Wax Bench
• Wax (use warm wax for base prep. Warm = soft wax for warm weather)
• Iron
• Metal scraper
• Plastic scraper ( rectangular)
• Plastic groove scraper
• Nylon brush
• Fibertex (3M Scotch-Brite pad)
• Fiberlene paper

For new skis or to prep old skis for the season

1. Buff ski from tip to tail with Fibertex. Buff in one direction – tip to tail.
2. Use metal scraper to give a light scrape. Use extreme caution with metal scraper. If uncertain, bring skis to Coach or to ski shop. Scrape ski from tip to center, then from center to tail. Scrape skis lightly to an even, flat finish. Remember to be careful as this is your base material you're scraping off.
3. Use Fibertex to buff ski.
4. Using an iron just hot enough to melt the wax, (if the wax smokes, the iron is too hot) drip wax up and down ski on both sides of the groove.
5. New school of thought on waxing suggests that instead of pushing iron back and forth over the ski to melt the wax you should push the iron slowly down the ski from tip to tail to melt the wax. Bring the iron down the ski two to three times. Be sure to keep the iron moving to avoid burning the ski base.
6. Allow ski to cool to room temperature for 30-40 minutes. Do not bring ski outside to cool. This does not let wax penetrate into ski base.
7. Now you're ready to scrape off all that wax. Use the groove scraper to scrape out the groove first. Then use the plastic scraper to scrape off as much wax as possible. Again, scrape from tip to tail. Use thumbs as brace, fingers as a guide for scraper.
8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 two more times
9. Use brushes to remove more wax (nylon for regular wax, horsehair for fluorinated waxes) Brush from tip to tail.
10. When waxing for a meet or for practice, do steps 4 to 7 just once. However, if you are changing wax colors (ie. going to a warmer or softer wax) you will want to wax twice to avoid ending up with a mix of the the old and new wax.
11. If you're a perfectionist you can buff the ski from tip to tail with Fiberlene paper.

Fine Points of Waxing

1. Hot Wipe (aka Clean Waxing) If you have skied a lot in dirty snow or you are just taking your skis down from the rafters you will want to do a hot wipe. Drip wax on as above (warm wax works best ie orange) and bring iron down the ski. Wipe behind iron with a piece of Fiberlene paper to remove as much molten wax as possible. This will remove all that dirt. Re-wax ski with desired wax.
2. Structure. To add structure to a ski You will need a special tool called a Rill Bar. Adding structure is really only necessary for meets. Even then you'll only notice a difference once you start to get pretty fast . As a rule, add structure first, then wax. to cut rills into the ski, angle the bar forward and push from tip to tail (/ ). To press rills into ski, angle the bar backward and push from tip to tail (\ ). There is a fine side and a coarse side to the bar. For medium, use the coarse side, then the fine. Use fine structure at 15 degrees or cooler, coarse for over 30 degrees. After you add structure, buff ski with Fibertex, then wax as normal.

1. Wax tips and tails of skis just as you would for skate skiing--in other words, do this on the ski everywhere except where you will be putting the kick wax.
2. Apply kick wax (the small, round canisters of wax) to the ski from the back of the heel to 8-12 inches in front of the foot.
3. Crayon the wax on in a single layer
4. Take a cork and rub it in. Rub until it looks smooth and free of globs.
5. Use 2 to 3 coats of wax.
6. If you are slipping, add another layer or extend kick wax forward. If that doesn't work, add a smaller kick zone of warmer wax.
7. If you are sticking, remove your wax and start again with a colder wax.
8. Waxing will be easier if done indoors.
9. For a long race (greater than 15 kilometers), or hard packed trail, you can use an iron for the first layer of wax.

Removing Wax

1. Apply small amount of wax remover to waxed area of kick zone.
2. Put toilet paper or Fiberlene over this area.
3. Put scraper on paper and scrape off wax. Scrape from tip to tail. Remove as much wax as possible with the scraper. Then apply wax remover to Fiberlene paper and apply to the ski.
4. When putting wax remover on COMBI skis, allow remover to evaporate for 20 minutes if possible so that when you re-apply glide wax, the remover won't eat through your wax job.
5. Avoid using wax remover on skate skis.

Article courtesy of Gear West Ski & Bike

Glide Wax

Before you think about glide wax, your ski base should be properly prepared. You may need to remove a thin layer of p-tex to eliminate surface oxidation, nicks, hairs or waves in the base. The appropriate base structure must then be applied (before waxing!).

Structure

Second to ski fit, the correct base structure is crucial for great glide. Structure is a specific pattern which is cut or pressed into the ski base. A condensed explanation: 1) fine structure for dryer, lower-humidity snow; 2) medium structure for most of our snow conditions; 3) course snow structure for wet, humid conditions. Factors affecting structure choice are coarseness of the snow crystals, snow temperature and amount of free water in the snow.

Stone grinding is the easiest and most foolproof way to clean, flatter and structure ski bases. A professional stone grind eliminates the need to sand, steel scrape and/or rill the base. Stone grinding removes the kilometers of snow time needed to make the skis fast.

Now you can glide wax with good results. These days, most companies offer excellent glide waxes. The real difference among waxes is their ability to repel dirt and moisture. This is where high fluorinated waxes shine. On clean, dry snow you can obtain similar results using a regular hydrocarbon or a low fluoro wax.

Hydrocarbon Wax

These waxes are the foundation of your wax box. A common mistake is to have too many waxes; three or four of your favorites will suffice. The latest from Scandinavia is to always blend two waxes - one hard and one soft. Colder temps require more hard wax and vice versa.

Fluorinated Wax

These waxes repel dirt and moisture. Used with the appropriate ski base structure, fluoro waxes will reduce surface friction and increase glide. The amount of fluorocarbon in the wax will determine its effectiveness; a low-fluoro, less expensive wax will not perform as well as it's hi-fluoro companion. At the elite level, fluorinated hard waxes are used as a base for fluoro powders.

Fluorinated Powders

Pressed or in powder form, these waxes are not bonded with hydrocarbons and must be applied with a hot iron. It is very important that you do not overhead and destroy your ski base. Therefore you must apply a base wax layer first before spreading the fluorinated wax. And, you need a good iron - Swix or Toko - whose temperature does not fluctuate. You can cork on fluoro powders, but their durability is severely diminished.

Waxing Tools

Proper tools are necessary to create fast bases. Our tool recommendations are simpler to beginning skiers or those not comfortable with handling tools. The minimum you will need however is:

• Plastic scraper
• Plastic brush
• Groove scraper
• Wax remover and cork (kick wax only)
• Iron

To apply the waxes with the least amount of frustration you should own a wax profile bench and/or ski clamps. Additional tools and accessories for the enthusiast: steel scraper, base plainer, t-scraper, cork, fibertex, Fiberlene, riller or rill bar, horsehair brush, bronze brush, roto brush, etc. - lots of fun stuff!

Kick Wax

Most important for proper grips to have a properly fit ski. NO wax will work if your ski's camber is too stiff. A common mistake is to choose wax by looking at air temperature only. Remember to consider snow type (fresh or granular), humidity and snow temperature.

Best results are achieved by using two kick waxes; apply the harder wax or binder first for durability, then the softer wax on top. For serious racers, grip wax thickness should consist of at least 7 thin smooth layers. Citizen skiers can meet most all wax conditions owning only 4 to 6 hard waxes (and 1-2 kilisters). Stop by for recommendations on the most common/useful waxes to use.

The grip wax zone for most skis and conditions is 40-50cm, or approximately 20-30cm in front of the binding. Never wax behind your heel.

Klister

Klister works best on a klister ski, which has a slightly stiffer and shorter wax product. Otherwise, just shorten your kick zone on your regular classic ski. For serious skiers, a klister tip is to use 2-3 types. The job of the first layer is to grip to your ski, while the other klister(s) are mixed as needed for the best possible snow grip.

To prevent excess debris from accumulating on your klister, cover the outer layer with a fluorinated klister, or a thin layer of kick was, which will help repel dirt.

Tips for klister removal:

• Lay toilet paper over klister and press down
• With a designated plastic (klister) scraper, scrape off the toilet paper, thereby removing most of the klister
• Spread wax remover over the klister zone
• Dampen a clean scrubby with wax remover and rub over remaining klister
• Dry with Fiberlene