Small base repair

A snowHead

I have a small gouge in a base of a ski. Approx the size of an oval shaped penney and there is a visible part of the layer below the black base which is about half the size of the main gouge. This was on the last day of last season so didn’t bother with a repair when is was there and just rubbed wax over the gouge. Was planning on using a p-tex candle to fill it and don’t believe it needs a full patch. What I do need some advice on is should I be buying some wax remover to clean it out before the ptex? Is there an alternative to use as a wax cleaner for what I see as effectively a one off use and I may only use a teaspoon of wax remover. Thanks

A snowHead

I have to admit, I've never had a p-tex repair stay in long, especially a shallow scoop. But the base repair pistol repairs (bought from Jon on here) I have made have always stayed in, some are now 7-8 years old. People have used isopropyl alcohol, meths, lighter fluid or citrus bike chain cleaner with carying degrees of success. I often preheat / dimple the repair edges with a small soldering iron to help with the bonding.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@MogulMonkey, you have what's known as a core shot which is were the damage has completely penetrated the p-tex base (which when new is only 1.4-1.8mm thick) and it needs to be repaired to stop water ingress.

For a repair to bond properly the area needs to be thoroughly degreased/dewaxed. In addition to the solvents mentioned above, lemon juice also works very well.

However p-tex only bonds to p-tex and will not bond to the core material of the ski so repairing will a p-tex candle is a waste of time as within a short period of time the repair will crack and fall out.

Traditionally a core shot would have been repaired with a p-tex patch but for a small repair like this that's not necessary and a welded repair can be done using a p-tex pistol or a Base Doc tool. The p-tex from this type of repair still won't stick to the ski core so a very thin layer of Metalgrip (a co-polymer of resin and metal) must first be welded to the core (completely covering the exposed area) to act as a 'primer'. Once the Metalgrip has cooled the p-tex can then be welded in on top. Once cooled the repair can be dressed down flush with the base and structured with some grit paper of a grade to match the existing structure.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@Scarpa, @spyderjon, thanks for the replies. Have purchased some ptex candles from piste office and will also use a bonding agent as suggested and see how it turns out.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@MogulMonkey, Should be ok. If you find that they pop out after a while consider getting a pistol; for under £50 I have now repaired about 4 core shots and several minor gauges.

Help!!

Small base repair

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Equipment Reviews/Questions