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Anyone know of some recipes? Every single one I find online has as many good reviews as bad reviews of the wax, mostly paraffin. *This is for UHMWPE plastic*
Also I saw a lot of arguments about wether or not plastic skis even need wax only wooden ones do...
I am thoroughly confused by OP, what kind of skis do you have? I would suggest just ordering wax online. swix is like $10-$15 and is great cold and hot stuff. I used it earlier for my tune that I did last week, works great and a brick will last you an entire season at the least, maybe two +.
Honestly i dont know if you're trolling. Yes, bases dry out. And I wouldn't risk using some sketchy wax that would let me save $5 to risk my $700 skis....
MLJHonestly i dont know if you're trolling. Yes, bases dry out. And I wouldn't risk using some sketchy wax that would let me save $5 to risk my $700 skis....
Plastic cannot "dry out" the wax is only for protecting the plastic from the micro crystals in the snow/ice and it only appears dry from that.
MLJHonestly i dont know if you're trolling. Yes, bases dry out. And I wouldn't risk using some sketchy wax that would let me save $5 to risk my $700 skis....
MLJHonestly i dont know if you're trolling. Yes, bases dry out. And I wouldn't risk using some sketchy wax that would let me save $5 to risk my $700 skis....
Old-schooler.Plastic cannot "dry out" the wax is only for protecting the plastic from the micro crystals in the snow/ice and it only appears dry from that.
Ski bases aren't made of plastic, they are made out of p-tex. You need to wax them with an iron and ski wax, or they'll dry out. When you apply heat to the base, the pores open up and absorb the wax, so its not just a "surface application" kind of thing. If you go for a very long time without waxing, the pores will seal, and you won't really be able to wax them anymore without doing a base grind first.
I wouldn't try to make homemade ski wax, I mean, just look at the ingredients list in the stuff. Tons of chemicals and sketchy stuff. If you don't have a shop nearby that sells ski wax, perhaps try ordering some online.
joshuaSki bases aren't made of plastic, they are made out of p-tex. You need to wax them with an iron and ski wax, or they'll dry out. When you apply heat to the base, the pores open up and absorb the wax, so its not just a "surface application" kind of thing. If you go for a very long time without waxing, the pores will seal, and you won't really be able to wax them anymore without doing a base grind first.
I wouldn't try to make homemade ski wax, I mean, just look at the ingredients list in the stuff. Tons of chemicals and sketchy stuff. If you don't have a shop nearby that sells ski wax, perhaps try ordering some online.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Dude they are made of the same fucking shit as cutting boards. Do you wax your cutting board?
Old-schooler.Dude they are made of the same fucking shit as cutting boards. Do you wax your cutting board?
Dude you are the ignorant one here. You asked a question and are getting answers that will help you in the long term of you skis. If you don't want to listen or chose to not take that advice, fine, but don't be a dick about it.
joshuaSki bases aren't made of plastic, they are made out of p-tex. You need to wax them with an iron and ski wax, or they'll dry out. When you apply heat to the base, the pores open up and absorb the wax, so its not just a "surface application" kind of thing. If you go for a very long time without waxing, the pores will seal, and you won't really be able to wax them anymore without doing a base grind first.
I wouldn't try to make homemade ski wax, I mean, just look at the ingredients list in the stuff. Tons of chemicals and sketchy stuff. If you don't have a shop nearby that sells ski wax, perhaps try ordering some online.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
I didn't mean to be a dick about it as someone else stated. I just didn't mention that my bases were un-sintered so they won't really absorb any wax. Should've mentioned that sorry.
Old-schooler.Also I saw a lot of arguments about wether or not plastic skis even need wax only wooden ones do...
What you mean by "wooden" skis?
bases are usually extruded (which is what yours are?) and need more frequent waxing because they dont have pores and it comes off fast.. or sintered, which is the majority of high performance skis.
someone once explained it to me that if you never wax your skis then extruded bases are better because they don't get as slow as a truly dried out sintered base. but you can't beat a well waxed sintered base for speed
Just buy some, as another individual said it's $10.
The amount of time an effort you'll sink into making it will be worth more than $10, and there's a good chance your 'home brew' will be shittier than a $10 product anyway. It's really not worth the effort unless you were one of those children who used to eat glue at primary school in which case you might get a bit of a kick from working with a bunch of chemicals.
bases are usually extruded (which is what yours are?) and need more frequent waxing because they dont have pores and it comes off fast.. or sintered, which is the majority of high performance skis.
someone once explained it to me that if you never wax your skis then extruded bases are better because they don't get as slow as a truly dried out sintered base. but you can't beat a well waxed sintered base for speed
I mean a piece of wood with the tips bent up.... Like a Gresshoppa Kolbjørn Knutsen & Co pair of skis
Old-schooler.I didn't mean to be a dick about it as someone else stated. I just didn't mention that my bases were un-sintered so they won't really absorb any wax. Should've mentioned that sorry.
The difference between sintered and unsintered bases is you need to wax unsintered bases MORE because they don't HOLD wax as well
ski-hippieThe difference between sintered and unsintered bases is you need to wax unsintered bases MORE because they don't HOLD wax as well
You've got that right. My extruded line skis have to be waxed after every 3 or 4 runs if I don't want them getting burnt (that white color they get on the surface when you ski a pair a lot without waxing. My rossi SL and GS skis on the other hand (with fantastic sintered bases) don't show that until a full day in really cold, or 2 or 3 days in moderate conditions.
If that doesn't prove it for anyone who might say they are different brands, or they are meant for different things, or that I ski them both differently, this will.
With my extruded lines, I can scrape wax off and it will almost break off the surface of the base as if it was never really shattered. Like, sometimes it breaks off completely in front of my scraper when I haven't even touched it. My sintered rossi skis on the other hand are suer hard to scrape because each little pore of wax acts like a little nub in the base keeping it from being scraped off. When I finally do finish scraping them, they shine like a bald mans head while my lines are sitting under the table with a matte sheen on it.
Use hertel wax, super hot sauce is nice, the racing 7249723084710 whatever is fantastic. If you bathe in gold get white gold, you won't regret it. Unless you are pro, race, or ski in an environment that varies by like 60 degrees (Fahrenheit) you don't need temp specific waxes or overlays. By the way, paraffin is not the same as a ski wax, or a skate wax. Do not use it or attempt to make your own. It does not have the same hydrophobic properties as ski specific waxes do. No further explanation needed.
Dish soap is great, but It wears off really quick. Its the shit if you have one run in a race but otherwise won't be consistent.
Hope this quells the hostility in this thread and helps some people out.
joshuaSki bases aren't made of plastic, they are made out of p-tex. You need to wax them with an iron and ski wax, or they'll dry out. When you apply heat to the base, the pores open up and absorb the wax, so its not just a "surface application" kind of thing. If you go for a very long time without waxing, the pores will seal, and you won't really be able to wax them anymore without doing a base grind first.
I wouldn't try to make homemade ski wax, I mean, just look at the ingredients list in the stuff. Tons of chemicals and sketchy stuff. If you don't have a shop nearby that sells ski wax, perhaps try ordering some online.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Having read a massive study on ski base structure (albeit, cross country) the pores thing is a myth, as the structure of p-tex will never expand large enough to hold a molecule of wax no matter how hot you get it. The study actually goes into what makes a ski fast and although they do exclude a good amount of variables ( as most studies need further expansion in the future), they found that the one thing that slows a ski down the most is small dirt particles held in the snow that get stuck to your base. This is why I'd argue a hot wax is good as it sticks to and lifts all of that dirt off your skis. Now again there is a gap with types of wax and the temperature of the wax that they don't go into but they also mention that a base grind doesn't do anything if your base isn't beat to shit with gashes. They do argue that if you do a base grind a manual grind is better than a machine grind due to the variation in the pattern having an effect on your speed- but it is so minimal that if you aren't racing it is kind of pointless. It should also be noted that the results showed that a clean ski with no wax on it is faster than a clean ski with wax and that is why you scrape and bush off as much as you possibly can.
The guy above you asking for advice is actually fairly correct in what he is saying (to my knowledge). But I still wax to keep a clean base that will be faster than a dirty base. The cosmetic appeal is just a bonus as it is like adding a clear varnish to wood- it just looks nicer after a wax, and no it isn't "dry" as it was already dry to begin with just like a clear-coat varnish on wood is still dry.
Just as a fun note most ski bases are made from polyethylene (PE, also known as p-tex) which is a plastic. As another fun note boxes are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) and not being a chemistry student makes it sound like both are pretty similar materials which is kind of cool.
