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Is a scrape really necessary?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
First trip out for the family yesterday and I didn't have much time so I just whacked some wax on and didn't bother with a scrape. I didn't notice any ill effects and after a couple of runs my base looked the same as if I had scraped it.

What is the downside? Environmental maybe? Certainly saves time and mess to skip the scrape.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
At a guess, if you don't scrape, you'll have less control. It's about having a smooth/flat base to run on (and not having wax on the edges which could prevent them from gripping.

If you are skiing on course snow, then after a run or two, most of the excess will be worn off.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Given how easy it is to get wax off edges, I can't see any resisting the first turn.
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nessy, it depends on the wax, the edge and the snow conditions.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
nessy,

Its just not a finished job, thats all. it'll make next to no difference or one you'll notice.
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There is a theory that the wax comes off quicker if you don't get it smooth before using the skis.

I scrape the edges then just use a brush on the base.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
rjs wrote:
There is a theory that the wax comes off quicker if you don't get it smooth before using the skis.

I scrape the edges then just use a brush on the base.


If you don't scrape, you can't buff.

Buffing, is, of course, optional, there's nothing wrong with leaving extra wax on the furniture/car/bowling alley.

PS Try fiberlene on the last iron pass.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
If you don't scrape on a powday day, you'll not be skiing.

On an average hardpack day the excess wax will come off in a run or two, but the base structure will still be full of wax, only really an issue if you're looking for speed.
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If the snow is new and/or very cold I notice the difference if I don't scrape and brush the wax out of the ski's structure. Other snow conditions it doesn't seem to be that noticeable to me, but as scraping and brushing only takes a few minutes per ski it doesn't seem like a particular hardship to do the job properly.
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Brushing? Scraping? Huh... You mean what the people do when you get your skis seviced?
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Well of all the downsides mentioned the only one that really disturbs me is that the wax job might not last as long since my main aim is to avoid work.

Like I said the performance of my skis or board has been quite adequate when I have taken this shortcut although always in hard packed powder (80% of conditions in a typical season).

veeeight, on those rather too rare powder days in this neck of the woods, gravity seems to keep me moving forwards. Might it really make a difference in steep powder? And surely the dry snow on the piste will be pretty abrasive before I get there. BTW in these conditions I will be on a board.

I have bothered with brushing before and using condition specific wax and noticed the difference in slushy conditions. But I really don't like scraping and it always makes a mess. I have also done a scrape in the car park to avoid the mess in the house.

Maybe the ideal lazy solution would be to take the brush along and brush after a couple of runs for maximum performance.

Anybody think there might be something un-Swiss about not disposing of my dirty wax properly but letting it go on the snow instead?


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Fri 29-12-06 6:48; edited 1 time in total
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Quote:

veeeight, on those rather too rare powder days in this neck of the woods, gravity seems to keep me moving forwards. Might it really make a difference in steep powder? And surely the dry snow on the piste will be pretty abrasive before I get there


In this neck of the woods, when we get powder days, there are no abrasive pistes to get the wax off.

Might it make a difference in steep powder? Yes. Turn initiation feels shite, and I could walk up the saudan couloir when I don't scrape on a powder day.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
nessy wrote:

Maybe the ideal lazy solution would be to take the brush along and brush after a couple of runs for maximum performance.

Anybody think there might be something un-Swiss about not disposing of my dirty wax properly but letting it go on the snow instead?


Yep. Particularly when a Swix-made paper can soak up the excess on the last iron pass without scraping.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Wax is self-cohesive, so it tends to come off together. If the wax is thicker, then, the theory goes, it will not last as long. Scrape and brush for best results.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
ssh, presumably to keep the wax where you want it then should you always scrape while the wax is still warm?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
nessy, No, the wax/ski should be left to fully cool before scraping & brushing to maximise absorbancy - with the ski returning to camber & closing up the p-tex etc. Other than hot scrape cleaning the only other time you'd scrape whilst the wax is still warm is if you are using a very hard/very low temp wax that is nigh on impossible to scrape off if it's allowed to fully cool.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I am a bit like nessy,(whom I think I know) and very seldom scrape, some mornings the ski is a little reluctant to move if it is V cold and my wax is more aimed at midday temps, it soon changes once on the slope has a bit more of an angle. Frequently I can still find a good coating in the shovel and tail areas of the ski after 2 or 3 days skiing. @nessy, the Sunstar has its own bench, so no need to leave the wax in the carpark Toofy Grin
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Dypcdiver, Don't know any Sunstars I'm afraid.
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nessy, I was reading too fast rolling eyes missed the family bit, the nessy I know did not have one last year Shocked sorry.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I like scraping the wax off. I get a strange kind of satisfaction from it, similar to nose picking Wink
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uktrailmonster, eesh, you eat ski wax?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

Particularly when a Swix-made paper can soak up the excess on the last iron pass without scraping

What's it called? Sounds a good idea. Just searched back for this thread, having been making a mess scraping and recalling this discussion. Not much chance of fresh or cold snow in the next day or so, so maybe I shall just leave the other skis. Maybe I'll scrape one of mine, and leave the other as an experiment. Guess I'll be skiing round in circles for the first few runs. My daughter's snowboard, which had been thickly waxed at the end of last season, was very difficult the first day out in very new, cold, unpisted snow. We had scraped it rather hastily but it collected big chunks of ice on the unscraped bits (mostly along the edges) and wouldn't move, so that chimes with the contributions above about powder. I guess most days, for most skiers, it doesn't matter unless you are a racer with only one chance of a fast run down the course! Am keen on short cuts if they don't make any real difference. I also quite enjoy the scraping, actually, but not clearing up the resultant mess on the terrace which gets trodden into the carpet if not done properly.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Fiberlene, though pretty much any tear-resistant and lint free paper towel might do.
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pam w, in the past I have taken a scraper with me and done it in the car park to transfer the mess to there. Makes me feel kind of guilty though.
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Quote:

Maybe I'll scrape one of mine, and leave the other as an experiment. Guess I'll be skiing round in circles for the first few runs.

Well, I didn't go round in circles. Standing on one foot, then the other, I could tell no difference at all, and I'd put them on at random so it was a blind trial. Both looked the same when I got back. Mind you, snow was slushy and warm; I won't try it in fresh, cold, snow.
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pam w, Echos my results.
Quote:

I could tell no difference at all
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
comprex,
Quote:
Fiberlene, though pretty much any tear-resistant and lint free paper towel might do.


Any paper kitchen towel works a treat for me. All I do is wax the skis as per normal then, while still hot, hold a sheet of kitchen towl over the iron and do one pass tail to tip and one pass tip to tail. It does a great job of taking the excess. Then there is minimal mess when scraping.
And it's cheap!
I then give the wife's travel iron a quick wipe over with another sheet then quickly place it back in its little bag before she notices.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

I then give the wife's travel iron a quick wipe over with another sheet then quickly place it back in its little bag before she notices.

Yes, even my iron with holes is really looking none the worse for wear. Dialling up the heat then rubbing it over a tea towel or similar would have it fit for ironing my clothes again, I suspect. The temperature control on it seems fine - on the lowest, one dot, setting, it does fine on the skis and seems consistent. I was wondering kitchen paper towel, petemillis, one of the items cheaper in France than at home. I feel more enthusiastic about frequent waxing now I know it doesn't need to take too long and make a mess. In the sub-tropical temperatures on my terrace at the moment (23 in the shade) I prefer to avoid strenuous exercise!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Here's an interesting little product that beat me to the patent punch by a couple of years:

http://www.skinswax.com/ridecandy.html
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