Wooden Ski Care and Preparation

[bgregoire]

Good job Woods!

Perhaps I did not rub enough tar off of mine!?! They sure climb well though!

Perhaps still available here:
http://www.devilstracknordic.com/shop/i ... roupid=134

[Woodserson]

Nice job on the pine tar Woods. And here's another tip for you: There's a nozzle for the torch that's more of a spreader, rather than a focused flame... a little smoother to torch with this.
I've always liked the smell of pine tar myself... though if I was doing it in a shop, the owners didn't like it much. They said all the clothes got the scent. Not so sure of that myself though.

Ive always tried to find the tar made for the ski application; forget who makes (or made) it, pretty sure it's Swix. What you want is "grundvalla"... (spelling might be off a letter or two). It's the right thickness, no thinning required, and not the thin liquidy stuff either.

That's not me or my torch in the photo, it's YOUNG ZEUS, Ski-Lift-Mechanic Extraordinaire in his Shop of Merveilles! (and a carefully selected dramatic shot for inspiration)

Looks like Ben found some of the Swix stuff- possibly- but I've never been able to get my hands physically on any. It's like a unicorn. Everyone has been out for years but keep photos up on their websites for some reason... maybe sometimes it turns up. Or maybe I suck at searching.

EDIT: I just emailed them asking

[lowangle al]

It used to be that every Nordic ski shop smelled like pine tar. I was checking out my Bonna 1800s yesterday, luckily they were good because my pine tar seems to have solidified.

Speaking of wood skis, anybody have any wooden Karhus? I have a pair, they are pretty beefy with a pre 3 pin binding on them. I believe they were made in Canada.

[Woodserson]

I have a reply from the shop listed above in Ben's post about the Swix pine tar:

"I have the START Pine Tar base prep available. It’s actually $22.50 + $10 for shipping. Comes in a plastic bottle instead of the tin. I just haven’t updated the website recently."

[phoenix]

bgregoire, that's the stuff! You may well know this already, but just in case:

After the initial burn-in, let the skis cool down and absorb the treatment. To clean 'em, use the torch again...lightly..and wipe a few inches of tar off at a time with a rag(s) as you heat your way down the ski. Get 'em down to almost buffed clean this way, finish with rags, no heat, for that nice, evenly burnished finish. Crayon some Polar over that (2 or 3 thin, well corked coats), and you have the base prep you want.

[Woodserson]

bgregoire, that's the stuff! You may well know this already, but just in case:

After the initial burn-in, let the skis cool down and absorb the treatment. To clean 'em, use the torch again...lightly..and wipe a few inches of tar off at a time with a rag(s) as you heat your way down the ski. Get 'em down to almost buffed clean this way, finish with rags, no heat, for that nice, evenly burnished finish. Crayon some Polar over that (2 or 3 thin, well corked coats), and you have the base prep you want.

Thanks for this great little technique, Phoenix, I added it to the post.