To get the most enjoyment, performance, and speed from your skis or board, you need to wax often; preferably every time before you ride! Waxing will help you turn better, improve base durability and keep your ride fast! You can select inexpensive hydrocarbon waxes made from paraffin, or more expensive waxes that contain fluorine (they are more hydrophobic (afraid of water) and usually are very fast, thus the wax of choice for racers). The wax selection will depend on the snow type & temperature, air temperature, and humidity present at the ski area. Whatever wax you choose, make sure that you hot wax in a well ventilated area, and if you use “high fluoro” wax, protect yourself from the fumes. Other wax choices include rub-on bars, paste waxes, and powders all of which are available mixed with fluorine. These are convenient for “on-the-hill” applications, but do not provide the base penetration of hot waxing. Always clean your base (use a ski base solvent – not gasoline or acetone; these will ruin your base) and alow it to dry thoroughly before you wax. You don’t want to wax dirt or the magnesium chloride used to melt ice on the roads into your base. New bases need a minimum of three hot iron waxings with a soft hydrocarbon wax (one used for warmer snow temperatures), allowing the wax to cool for at least one hour between scrapings (always with a plastic scraper). Don’t forget to brush the excess wax out of the structure (from tip to tail) of the base with a brass or copper base brush and then a stiff and subsequently soft nylon brush after the last wax applied has been scraped. You want the wax to penetrate the structure of the (p-tex) polyethylene base Continue reading »