 Poster: A snowHead
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Someone gave me some new skis to wax so I started on them last night. This picture is what came out of one bases on the 3rd scrape!
Nice eh? Bear in mind this was the third lot of this that came out, I don't know what effect it would have on the glide but it can't be good.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nice wall covering
shame there's some blurry grey object in the way 
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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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Arno, that's the second time I've posted a picture from inside my house and the second time the first reply has commented on the 70's-esque wallpaper 
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Swirly, were you focussed on it in the last photo as well?
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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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arv, haha I don't know why that happened, unfortunately the screen on my P&S is broken and I only took the one photo so it's all you're getting. You can still see that the wax looks more the colour of ptex than wax though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Looks like the iron was too hot when applying the wax ?
And you melted some of the ptex in the base ?
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Haggis_Trap, no the iron was below 120, honestly it's just the graphite and crap left from the manufacturing, it went clear eventually. I only took the photo on a spur of the moment as an indication of why it's a good idea to properly service new stuff before using it.
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Swirly, unfortunately it's usuall to have crap in the bases of new skis but that does seem like a lot. What make/model?
I've recently hot scraped the bases of a dozen pairs of new Stockli SL &GS race dept skis & they were all impressively clean.
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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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spyderjon, would they be the ones collected very recently or being collected in the next hour or so 
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CEM, yep, four pairs of them were. Gave them all an free extra hot boxing too as per your request.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I tested a pair of Vist race skis at the end of season bash. They were new from the factory and there hadn't been time to get them waxed before the ski test - the bases ran very slowly; they just wouldn't glide well at all. Compared to my slalom skis (which hadn't been waxed for a week, but generally get looked after quite well during the season) the Vist skis were crying out for a decent service. It persuaded me of the need to give new skis a good service.
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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 recently bought a pair of cheapo K2 s from that place in Covent Garden. Memory's gone. Oh well. I asked the chap there about prepping the bases and he said absolutely no need. I guess he's wrong then .... ? would any damage be done if I skiid (sp?) them for a week and had them done after that? Not too bothered about peformance - in fact the slower the better!
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| noggy wrote: |
| Not too bothered about peformance - in fact the slower the better! |
I don't wax skis for faster skiing but to make them glide more smoothly. Makes a big difference if the snow is wet or very cold & old - the skis don't stick and it makes skiing those snow conditions a bit easier.
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You know it makes sense.
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noggy, I doubt it'll have damaged them. The thing about new skis is they won't have much wax in them, it's more of a quick protection thing that a proper waxing, and there will be crud left over from manufacture: hence the black stuff in the picture although that is worse than usual. As rob@rar says this will dramatically affect the glide.
Personally I'd do a big base prep on any new skis or boards unless I was assured that I didn't need to by whoever was selling them and I knew them on a personal (not just professional) level that convinced me they knew what they were talking about. This is especially true given most shop services aren't very good.
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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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Swirly, Thanks - perhaps I'll get them done before the season starts. If I take them to a typical ski shop in, say, a French ski resort should I get a decent job, or do I need to be choosy?
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Poster: A snowHead
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hmm unfortunately I've not been convinced by any of the shop tuners I've seen/spoken to although through second hand info there are some good ones around. This is a bit of a hobby horse of a number of people on here, me included
The real question is how decent do you want it to be: taking them into a shop and getting a wax done will leave you with a set of skis that will be fine for a weeks use, OTOH doing it yourself or getting someone to do it by hand will give much better wax penetration. I think I can tell the difference on my board and it certainly seems to make a difference on the flats (where you'd notice it most) when compared to machine waxed skis. Also on new stuff you'll want a hot wax clean and a couple of coats put on (I'd do 5).
Wherever you go make sure they don't do anything to the edges though as you'll never get sharper ones than when they're new.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
you'll never get sharper ones than when they're new.
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got to disagree there, some of the skis i have seen recently wouldn't cut butter with the factory finish...sidewalls need to be strippedback and a fine diamond finish are a definate must for a really good edge.... mind you a lot of the time it is not about how sharp the ski is but how smooth the edge finish is...little burrs slow you down loads
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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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Swirly, Thanks, very helpful.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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CEM, wow, all the new stuff I've used has been really good IMO, mind you I've not had a play with that much brand new kit compared to old stuff where the edges have been dinged. Personally I've found you only need the side wall trimming if you planning on changing the edge angle.
Burrs yeah they also make the edge seem sharper than it might actually be and shop tunes tend to leave the hanging burr on although it's easy enough to get rid of.
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