 Poster: A snowHead
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Have read quite a bit in this but very different views seem to abound.
I usually hot scrape once a season - and skis are waxed countless times during each year. The hot scrape gets off a lot of grunge but I have never used citrus or other solvents - basically because we are after protection of our bases rather than ultimate speed. Some radical websites actually say don't even wax, but I have over the years built up a practice of waxing with hydrocarbon waxes about once every week, sometimes less when there's highly abrasive snow around. Layering on new wax and then scraping and brushing as per usual practice seems fine (and quick, too - since I often have eight pairs of skis to prep I am not out for adding unnecessary stages) but since we are all about protecting the bases rather than ultimate performance is there any real point in stripping the old wax frequently with a cleaner? Any views?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I haven't seen a "citrus" cleaner yet that isn't petroleum distillates; it`s got to be better the way that you have been doing it.
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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?
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@valais2, how often do you ski? Are they all your own skis or those of the family?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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All family and friends - each pair has about 10-12 weeks on the snow per year
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@valais2, That's around what we normally do per season... i just have a local shop service them when it is needed (normally once per pair per season) Then in May they just get shoved in the store room and forgotten about until November.... then we use them until they need a service again (see above).
I expect if the daughter gets into racing then this may change soon but IMO there is just no need to spend that much time on each pair.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@flangesax, blimey we wouldn't get away with servicing once per season - 6-7 hours on boiler plate sure dulls the edges, the rocks and stones take their toll on bases, and sugar snow strips the bases a treat. We sometimes can go with a week or more without at least some work, but sometimes sone form of action is needed every couple of days ... All depends how hard you ski and what you do - and we certainly ski hard. So the issue is just whether it's worth using citrus cleaner or not....thanks
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| valais2 wrote: |
| 6-7 hours on boiler plate sure dulls the edges... All depends how hard you ski and what you do - |
We try to ski _on_ piste as little as possible >> they're just convenient routes to get you to the interesting stuff 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@geoffers, ..sure, so do we, but with an avalanche rating of 4 for days at a time, zero base under new snow, I think it was right to stick to the piste over the last month, with my 9 and 11 year olds ....
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I've been servicing my skis for over 10 years, the only time I ever use base cleaner is for base repairs. @valais2, what you are doing seems right to me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yep, hot scrape is the way to go in my view - enough times so the wax comes out clean. Two is usually sufficient for really cruddy skis. The only "chemical" stuff I put on bases is Zardoz Notwax liquid Teflon for slippiness and small patches of wax remover for P Tex repairs
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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.
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I'd only usually use citrus cleaner if the bases are really filthy for some reason - marginal, muddy spring conditions, car park mud, dryslope gunge, indoor snow, etc.
Or to clean out a base gouge before repairing.
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I service a lot of skis...too flippin many.
I wash down with a sponge and washing up fluid/water, dry off and then wax.
That gets most of the dirt off the bases.
Hot/Scrape if really mucky.
People who say once per year is enough...well maybe if you only ski a week per year and you had soft snow..
Over Christmas I was doing all our edges every day...they were in a shocking state after just a couple of hours skiing, I even had a mini file in my pocket to do mine at lunchtime.
Leaving those for a full week would have simply been unskiable.
I'm really fussy about the edges, and a bit lazy about the bases.
I almost never ever get them base ground in a shop, I wax them myself (not often enough) and have a proper p-tex gun if that is required.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
Over Christmas I was doing all our edges every day...they were in a shocking state after just a couple of hours skiing, I even had a mini file in my pocket to do mine at lunchtime.
Leaving those for a full week would have simply been unskiable.
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I'm never going to let you near my knives... They sound way too bevelled to go blunt in a morning. It's llike those cheap knife sharpeners - they put an amazingly sharp double bevel on a blade which is super sharp for about 3 cuts, then they break or blunt.
I average over 65 days per season over the last 7 seasons. I have never, ever hand filed edges or felt the need too. I have my skis serviced mid season or after a scrape. I'll use a bit of quick wax or rub-on stuff as and when. I can't imagine your skis would have been 'unskiable'. I've skied with rocks stuck in the tails of some de-laminated skis!
If you enjoy doing the servicing yourselves and have the time then why not.... but IME (and many other season skiers or ex-pats) the word 'need' only comes into play when you are racing or when you literally have a lump of snow stuck under your ski!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@rungsp, @flangesax, ....weirdly I think you are more in agreement than might appear - I can see where rungsp is coming from - hand edging skis is AGT (a Good Thing) since over a month it takes off the same as doing it once (to remove the horrible rounded edge back to a1deg base and 88/89 side depending which you've set or inherited from the manufacturer) and you spend more of that month with decent edges. I don't think Jon Coster would disagree with that.
Fussy about edges lazy with bases - yes that's me too. The boilerplate this Christmas was taking a huge and rapid toll on edges - but I kept them sharp since this was the safest option for my kids (and enabled me to keep some semblance of style) - just a quick hand edge every couple of days a la Coster - perfect.
And my rock skis are like flangesax - delam at the tails, stones in the base, and cream-crackered top sheets. Look like dogs, ski over and down anything...
The double bevel thing is a red herring - I know what you mean, since I hand sharpen all my kitchen knives on a steel, not a wheeled sharpener, but hard to see how this applies to someone who knows how to hand tune their edges, I have been known also to carry an oxide stone to deal with nasty dings in my edges (plenty this season with zero decent base).
And blunting edges in a morning on boiler plate? Easily done - have you thought of the energy involved in skiing compared with the energy of filing an edge? Like comparing a thermonuclear device to a candle flame...
..and thanks all for advice on citrus - will indeed limit use to repairs....
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