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Official Ski/Binding Maintenance Thread

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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,272
As all of us know, it is very important to know how to use/maintain your ski equipment, so my hope for this thread is to have everyone post videos or picture tutorials on how to do various forms of ski maintenance, whether it's adjusting bindings, waxing skis, dulling edges, anything, but just so you know where to look when you have basic questions about this sort of thing

I'll put 2 videos in the OP:

How to Take Apart/Bend FKS
by me

How to Wax Your Skis
by mrstskier

Next up just a few tips:

When you get home from skiing you should do 3 things:
1. take your skis inside and leave them there
2. wipe your bases and edges with a cloth or rag
3. pull your skis apart and lean them against a wall with the bases sticking up

Now it's your turn, post tips, stories, tutorials, anything relating to ski maintenance because it can greatly increase the life and performance of your gear


**DISCLAIMER**
A LOT OF THESE THINGS REQUIRE BASIC SHOP SKILL, PROPER TOOLS, AND EXPERIENCE. DO EVERYTHING AT YOUR OWN RISK AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE ABLE TO EXECUTE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PROCESSES. THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU RISK THE LIFE OF YOUR GEAR AND MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING

This goes for advice giving as well, make sure you possess knowledge of the subject you're providing advice for because it can jeopardize people's safety if you give them false tips. So either make sure you know what you're saying or put in your post that you're just kinda guessing
Apr 21 2009 10:27PM
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Ismo
Posts: 6 - Karma: 10
How about waxing line afterbangs, they doesnt have a core does they need waxing to keep skis flexable and poppy?
Dec 30 2009 9:36AM
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Oreos
Posts: 1207 - Karma: 38
wax them like with any other skis, wax them. you wax the base not the core so it doesn't directly affect the core or structure of the ski only the base, and as the base is the same as any other ski you wax them for all your worth. oh yea did i mention you should wax them.
Dec 30 2009 10:26AM
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omIV
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 306
You're wrong about the structure part...the base itself has a structure (those lines that run either tip to tail or diagonally on the base), and wax is designed to penetrate the base and lubricate that structure.
Dec 30 2009 2:35PM
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Oreos
Posts: 1207 - Karma: 38
obviously the base has structure of it's own but he was asking about the effect on the structure of the core. does the structure of the base have a direct effect on the core? i suppose it must considering they're so close and aim to move in harmony. didn't know the lines though, cheers for the little education.
Dec 30 2009 2:52PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
waxing will NOT directly affect the flex/pop of a ski, only keep them fast and the bases strong

Dec 30 2009 7:04PM
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Ryan_Reedyk
Posts: 2 - Karma: 10
thanks for the tips
Dec 31 2009 11:56AM
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deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
When waxing skis, is it correct that the wax dries basically instantly when it hits the ski, and then you melt it again with the iron, or should it stay liquid?  Also, I have a swix iron, but it doesnt say temperatures, but just numbers.  Does anybody have the temperatures that coorespond to the numbers.  Furthermore, what temperature would you use using dakine all temp wax?
Jan 9 2010 4:20PM
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omIV
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 306
it wont stay liquid. the numbers correspond to the swix wax system. not sure offhand what wax is good for dakine; id say just put it in the middle and if the wax starts smoking, turn it down
Jan 9 2010 10:34PM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
First i would  like to thank no_steeze and aoe. for the helpful videos. I recently bought a pair of fks and my shop unfortunately did not have the fks jig. My dad and I decided to do a free hand mount.
First off we had to bend the fks brakes which took much longer then expected and then put the bindings back together. We then screwed the bindings on to a pine board for practice. We discovered that the bindings needed to be closer than we had origanlly assumed. We rescrewed the bindings in and it was now satisfactory. We used a piece of Plexiglas to make our jig and used many of the other helpful ideas aoe. presented. We were then ready to mount after testing out the jig. The mount was very sucessful and thanks again to no-steeze and aoe.
 I would only recommend doing this if you are patient and have a sense of what you are doing.

Jan 10 2010 11:06AM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Pictures:
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Any questions pm me or respond here
Jan 10 2010 11:11AM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Fail retry
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Jan 10 2010 11:19AM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Wow i dont know whats wrong. They are in my profile. +K for posting them
Jan 10 2010 11:21AM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002
Click for larger image

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something like this??

Can you tell me how you did it and what was difficult? I have some old fks and my shop also doesnt have a jig.. thanks!

Jan 10 2010 11:59AM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002
After looking better at your pics, did something went wrong? Looks like you have 2 pair of extra holes at the toe piece right? You had to remount??
Jan 10 2010 12:11PM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Those were old holes that i filled. And thanks for posting the pics
Jan 10 2010 9:54PM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
The most diffucult part for us was bending the brakes and putting the binding back together. When making the jig i would practice on wood like we did and make sure your boot fits, its lined up etc... When making the jig remember to drill larger holes then what you will in the ski to avoid breaks. If you are knowledgeable, patient, and have the right skills i would go for it.
Jan 10 2010 9:58PM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002
Great, I've got 2 pairs of old race ski's so I can try on those.. When they where still mounted My boot didnt fit in, so i moved the toe piece 0.5cm forward and now they fit great with forward pressure and all.. So I was thinking, can I drill the holes trough the enitre ski (the old race ski's) so I can make a jig really easy??
Jan 11 2010 2:33AM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
That might work but i might just put the Plexiglas on the top over the old holes and with a pen mark where the holes would be. transfer it to on top of a board and drill through the Plexiglas ti make the jig
Jan 11 2010 8:32AM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002

Yeah but that could be off a few mm but when I drill right trough the old holes with a piece of plaxiglas under it it wil be perfect on the mm right?

Well I'm just gonna try to make it this week and mount a few times on the old race skis..

Jan 11 2010 11:49AM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Ya it should be good that way too. Good luck and post up the results dude
Jan 11 2010 10:03PM
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merkel
Posts: 4 - Karma: 10
yo, can anybody help me out?
i have volkl ledge's, and the sides of the tops of them (just above the edges) are getting shredded! there's a sort of laminate coating with the graphic, and all the way down the sides of both my skis it's chipped up real bad. apparently it's not deep enough to fuck up my skis, but it looks like shit. anybody know how i can clean it up nice (if i can)?

and also my marker bindings have these breaks that are weak as fuck, im getting new ones put on right now but i think i'll break them too, is there any fix to this other than new bindings?
Jan 12 2010 2:48PM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002

Can you post pictures?

You can put some sort of epoxy in it.. and make it nice and straight again..

You cant buy brakes that are more durable or anything..

Jan 15 2010 7:52AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Topsheet and sidewall chipping. Best solution is to round it as best you can with an abrasive surface (like a file), but dont go too deep, as this can break into the laminate layers (core, fiberglass, yadda yadda). If you dont need anything that drastic, go with sandpaper. Better yet, I've been using wet sandpaper (look for it at most hardware and auto body shops). Soak a sponge, wrap it in sandpaper (120 grit is good) and brush over the edge, smoothing it all nice. Make sure to cover the rest of your topsheet with masking tape to make sure you dont scrub the surface of the topsheet and ruin the gloss.

As for brakes, you're pretty much stuck with whatever construction the binding manufacturer deems is good. Some are better than others, in my experience at least (blew up a Rossi 12 that way landing switch, huuuuuuurt).
Jan 16 2010 4:56AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Afterbangs dont have a core, thus, they do not need core wax.
Jan 16 2010 4:57AM
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merkel
Posts: 4 - Karma: 10
yo man ill do that for sure, thanks for the advice.
Jan 16 2010 10:39AM
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shibby
Posts: 7088 - Karma: -19
Tuning skis is really fun. Things like minor rust removal, waxing, binding adjustments and even minor base repairs can be done pretty easily and on a low budget.

I would advise caution with sharpening edges though. I've seen way too many people come into the shop with double edges or ones that are totally rounded because they tried to hand tune them. I would suggest bringing skis into a shop to have the edges sharpened and make sure to ask how they do it. Most ski shops probably use a trim disc but I've heard of places (chain sports retailers) using belts which is not cool. If you really want to do it yourself make sure to buy a proper set on files and bevel guides or you will fuck your skis.
Jan 20 2010 10:32PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
Ummm, if there's some minor dings or little holes or non superficial scratches in/on my bases can they be fixed by just wax? Or a stone grind or something? What exactly do those do, someone want to inform me on some base info?
Jan 21 2010 8:17PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
little dings u can just fix with wax, anything thats getting deep you will want to ptex
Jan 21 2010 9:19PM
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shibby
Posts: 7088 - Karma: -19
PTex will fix what you are talking about. If the holes/scratches are too small to be filled by PTex then you can just belt them away but that will take the structure out of the ski. Stone grinds will essentially put structure back into the ski and should be done usually after PTex work. If you look at stock skis almost all of them have very fine linear lines in them that help the ski glide, that's the structure.

By the sounds of it you could just drip some PTex into the few little holes you have, let it dry and then scrape any excess off.

As far as I know wax is not meant to repair any type of base damage. It may fill some scratches and gouges in for a bit but it is in no way permanent. Wax helps your ski glide better and preserves the base.
Jan 22 2010 5:18PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
Would hot waxing do anything to PTEX or no? Like take it off or something? And I'm thinking PTEX then wax. I might not even PTEX, it's not really that bad, plus I'm in NJ and it's january, almost february, not really too much longer in the season to destroy my skis so...

Seems like my skis (disorderly's ) lose wax fast, but I do ski on a decent amount of non-snow.
Jan 22 2010 7:02PM
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omIV
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 306
no hot waxing isn't gonna fuck with the ptex, ptex has a much higher melting point than the wax does.
Jan 22 2010 7:04PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
just got back from completely fucking up a pair of fks 120's... a little warning to everyone: no matter how much you heat the brakes, they can still snap if you hammer them too hard. (i was trying to unround the edges)
Jan 28 2010 11:05PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
lolz fail
Jan 29 2010 12:18AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,896
Dulling or de-tuning edges.  Also, what is a railed ski and how do you know if your skis are railed. 

Courtesy of Newschoolers.com

Also thread specific:  https://www.newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/520693/






Feb 11 2010 1:16PM
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B-runge
Posts: 16558 - Karma: 361
mr huck is a true badass, that was a good tutorial
Feb 11 2010 8:47PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,896
Thanks.  I'm thinking if I keep hitting the plus button long enough I can bump your Karma up to 11.  Vibes.
Feb 12 2010 4:18PM
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KLeigh
Posts: 3 - Karma: 11
I watched your video & I bough everything that you suggested. I am so excited to finally wax my own skis <3 thank you for the video & the tips
Feb 16 2010 2:41PM
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yellav
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 1,217
any other advice on getting the brake spring back into an fks binding? its been giving me a bit of trouble for the past few days...
Feb 17 2010 5:12PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
anyone want to do a Ptexing tutorial? it would be much appreciated.
Feb 18 2010 6:41PM
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B-runge
Posts: 16558 - Karma: 361
i vote mr huck, thomas or alex
Feb 18 2010 6:59PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
for sure. i get how to drip it in, its once its in there and has hardened up that im not quite sure what im supposed to do
Feb 18 2010 7:07PM
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omIV
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 306
I'm going to be repairing a friend's ski (pretty awful core shot); I'll see if I can get a video of that up.
Feb 18 2010 9:36PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
someone remind me in the morning and ill do one
Feb 19 2010 3:34AM
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B-runge
Posts: 16558 - Karma: 361
hey thomas wake up, go to your internet highschool, lul, play wow, make a video, and go skiing
Feb 19 2010 9:20AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,896
If you don't, I can get one done next week.  I got a new POV cam.  My bases are clear.  It would be a bonus to do it with clear bases.  That way you can show what happens when you hold the petex too far away and get carbon in it. 
Feb 19 2010 9:40AM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
well i've got a tiny ding one a pair of on3ps that i was gonna fix today anyway so ill make one in an hour or so
Feb 19 2010 11:03AM
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PhuzzyWuzzy
Posts: 358 - Karma: 82
I noticed that I can not adjust the DIN on my FKS heel piece if it is pushed down.  I figure this is because there is more tension on the spring.  If I pull the heel piece up, I can adjust the DIN easily, so I think that storing them pulled up might not be that bad of an idea.  What do you guys think? 
Feb 19 2010 2:51PM
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PhuzzyWuzzy
Posts: 358 - Karma: 82
Helicoils probably.  Tognar.com has a kit, or you could just ask your local shop. 
Feb 19 2010 3:49PM
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PhuzzyWuzzy
Posts: 358 - Karma: 82
Tognar.com has Swix Universal Cold (which I think is actually CH6) and Swix Universal Warm (which I think is actually CH7) for pretty cheap.  $40 for 900g. 
Feb 19 2010 4:00PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
letting the ptex set for a few, then ill finish the video and post it. should be up in an hour and a half
Feb 19 2010 4:57PM
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