Know-How — 06 Dec 2022

Do your skis have slight rust spots on the edges or a white sheen on the base? Then it's high time to take care of them properly.

Here we would like to explain why it is important to wax your skis and protect the edges.

 

Why should you wax your skis?

The base is the part that rests on the snow and gets the most wear from friction on the snow. Snow crystals form depending on the temperature or type of snow. Artificial snow or snow at cold temperatures is particularly aggressive, which means more abrasion on the base. Therefore, it is important to regularly maintain the surface - consisting of polyethylene. 

However, maintenance does not start at waxing - it starts at the end of the skiing day. The skis should be dried before loading into the car and then stored dry. Otherwise the edges can rust.  In addition, the skis should be stored dry and in the best case dark in the cellar. The sun can dry out the ski coating. The care of the ski base can be compared with the care of the skin - also the skin must be supplied with cream, otherwise it becomes dry and brittle.

 

But how do you care for a base properly? There are several ways:

The most important step in waxing is cleaning the base! Before hot waxing, you should always clean your base with Waxremover to get rid of dirt and residue from the slope. Otherwise, dirt will be absorbed into the base during waxing - which will slow you down the next time you're on the slopes.

Scratches and injuries in the ski base can also slow you down. But you can easily repair them with a Repair Candle before hot waxing. The Repair Candle is heated with a lighter and then dripped onto the base. Then, when the wax has hardened, peel it off with a steel blade. Here you can find the exact instructions: Link to the video.

 

Hot waxing at regular intervals is important. The heat of the iron opens the pores so that the wax is properly absorbed and can penetrate deep into the base.  After waxing, it's best to leave the wax on overnight, or if that takes too long for you, at least 30 minutes. The longer the wax can soak in, the better the base will be saturated.

After some time you can then remove the wax with a plexi blade and brush it out. Brush out the base properly - until no more white powder comes off the base. There should be no more wax on the surface. The wax that makes you fast is absorbed into the base. The residual wax will only slow you down, because this provides resistance in the snow. That means - more is not enough.

 

Over summer, it is best to leave the wax on the base and not remove it. This protects the surface from the effects of light and temperature. Wax quietly over the edges, this additionally protects the edges from rusting.

 

However, the skis do not need to be hot waxed after every skiing session. With the Express Pocket you can easily spread the wax over the ski surface after skiing - thus the edges are protected from rust and the base is maintained.

 

What you need:

  • Waxremover 

  • Base Tex

  • Repair Candle

  • Steel Scraper Blade

  • Base Performance Rot

  • Iron T8

  • Plexi Blade

  • Express Pocket