Hot waxing scales... pro tips!

[t-$]

i don't believe it al...i bet you rage it anyway!

[lowangle al]

i don't believe it al...i bet you rage it anyway!

My new goal is not to master crappy conditions but to avoid them. With my long season up here I can be selective about when I go out. I can make up for a crappy winter by getting out in April and May.

[Lo-Fi]

The paper towel technique isn't working for me, I'm filling the scales pretty good.

How do you keep the brash brush from gumming up?

You probably need to use more wax and more paper towels than what the dude in the video uses.

Trying flooding the skis with more wax, using enough heat and linger time with the iron to really liquify the wax and continuously wipe it off as its still liquid.

Don't just rub on the wax, then iron, as in the video. Instead:

1. First melt the wax against the iron's surface, about 6" above the ski, dripping it onto the ski in two or three lines up and down the length of the scales.
2. Then start to iron the drips in until it liquifies and spreads over the ski base
3. Wipe off immediately as you go every few inches, rubbing back & forth and all around with absorbent paper towels or rags. Have a stack of paper towels or rags at the ready so you can keep grabbing them as they fill up with wax, as you move along the base.

I've found I can get rid of virtually all the wax that way.

4. Finally, while the base is still warm, brush up & down and all around the base with the brass brush to clean out the nooks & crannies, and maintain structure. Also scrape the edges if they are covered in wax.
5. Do a final light buff down the ski with a swix scotch-brite pad to get rid of burrs, flakes, dust, or residue. End with a wipe of lint free swix fibrelene paper.

To me, it makes a big difference with improving glide, reducing suction in the wet, and keeping the base non-stick.

[Woodserson]

As far as hotwaxing the scales is concerned, I am usually successful by applying wax by crayoning it onto the scales as generously as I have patience for, but only go with the scales when applying, not against so you don't accumulate wax in the scales. Then quickly run the iron with (not against) the scales to heat/melt the crayoned-on wax. Then, I'll brass brush (cheapo combo nylon on one side, brass on the other) the scales, again with the scales, not against them. I'll also apply paste wax in a similar way, but no iron.

The paper towel technique as described in the video wasn't great, I ended up smearing it all over the place. I did a heat-the-bar-and-crayon technique as described as above, ironed in the direction of the scales, like above, and then brushed. Some brushing was laterally in places where it got a little thick, but usually with the direction of the scales. I dental pick cleaned out some of the worst areas. We'll see how it goes. The deep valleys are still clear of wax, so still able to get sticky snow but hopefully that top parts will break it up. I'll add some maxi-glide too and see how it goes. Buffed with the copper and then nylon brushes.

These fishscale bases are not perfect. They have little waves about 7.5mm in from the edges and some of the crayon wax didn't melt in there, sometimes it did and filled the valley. I'm not too concerned about any of it really, the KOMs have huge surface area of scales, I should be fine.

OOOOO UPDATE from our friend:

You probably need to use more wax and more paper towels than what the dude in the video uses.

Trying flooding the skis with more wax, using enough heat and linger time with the iron to really liquify the wax and continuously wipe it off as its still liquid.

Don't just rub on the wax, then iron, as in the video. Instead:

1. First melt the wax against the iron's surface, about 6" above the ski, dripping it onto the ski in two or three lines up and down the length of the scales.
2. Then start to iron the drips in until it liquifies and spreads over the ski base
3. Wipe off immediately as you go every few inches, rubbing back & forth and all around with absorbent paper towels or rags. Have a stack of paper towels or rags at the ready so you can keep grabbing them as they fill up with wax, as you move along the base.

I've found I can get rid of virtually all the wax that way.

4. Finally, while the base is still warm, brush up & down and all around the base with the brass brush to clean out the nooks & crannies, and maintain structure. Also scrape the edges if they are covered in wax.
5. Do a final light buff down the ski with a swix scotch-brite pad to get rid of burrs, flakes, dust, or residue. End with a wipe of lint free swix fibrelene paper.

To me, it makes a big difference with improving glide, reducing suction in the wet, and keeping the base non-stick.

Ok, so go big or go home, hmm? Basically wax it like the glide sections but then attack with a pile of paper towels? I usually keep my iron hot but not hot enough to get a lot of playing time with liquid wax. Solidification starts happening relatively quickly, I was having a lack of available time between iron and paper towels and in the end it was just smearing it all over the place instead of being absorbed.

I'll go try right now.

[woodchuck]

Dumb idea from back of the room: turn everything upside down. Scales facing down, iron with a layer or two of cotton (t-shirt type rags) facing up... now you have gravity and surface tension working same direction....

just an idea. I don't even own a set of scaled skis right now.

[fisheater]

[
I’ve had success with my Koms following this guy’s method. Brush out (side to side and lengthwise) with a TOKO/swix brass brush.

The paper towel technique isn't working for me, I'm filling the scales pretty good.

How do you keep the brash brush from gumming up?

Woods, I drip the wax with the iron, then with the iron in one hand and the paper towel in the other, I heat and wipe immediately.

Of course to be really successful you need a high tech wax iron like mine. I bet I have been using this beauty for 25+ years

[Woodserson]

Of course to be really successful you need a high tech wax iron like mine. I bet I have been using this beauty for 25+ years

BRO! mine is 1998 vintage. It has a good mix of different waxes, for SPEEEEEEEED. Works good. Lasts long time.

[t-$]

diggin the irons...

[lowangle al]

Mine has a cloth insulated power cord. I'm thinking it's from before the sixties.

[Woodserson]

Thanks guys-- this has worked well now after some trail and error.

I strapped the ski down so it wouldn't move at all and jump the clamps, used a cotton cloth (old undershirt) instead of paper-towels (which disintegrated and left paper-towel bits in the wax). I worked in short sections rubbing vigorously and I was able to wax the scales and clean them out. I also increased the temperature a bit on the iron so it would melt the wax that was deep in the scales and therefor not in contact with the iron... keeping the iron moving quickly of course. Looks very nice! Feel fast!