Beginner Maintenance

No need for sharpening tools.

Ight thanks man, is that mostly just lack of ice in parks, or sharper blades are bad on rails?

Just grab a waxing/ tuning kit online somewhere. It'll come with a wax iron, wax, scraper, file for edges, ptex sticks and other little things. Get a gummy stone, some West Systems G-Flex epoxy and you're good to go. There are a lot of how-to videos on detuning for park, waxing, maintenance, etc. Check out videos by @DominatorJacques for sure, he's a tuning guru.

ZenyattaKickIght thanks man, is that mostly just lack of ice in parks, or sharper blades are bad on rails?

Just grind those things off, sharp edges stick on rails

Non_State_ActorJust grab a waxing/ tuning kit online somewhere. It'll come with a wax iron, wax, scraper, file for edges, ptex sticks and other little things. Get a gummy stone, some West Systems G-Flex epoxy and you're good to go. There are a lot of how-to videos on detuning for park, waxing, maintenance, etc. Check out videos by @DominatorJacques for sure, he's a tuning guru.

Thanks boss really appreciate the help!

Non_State_ActorJust grab a waxing/ tuning kit online somewhere. It'll come with a wax iron, wax, scraper, file for edges, ptex sticks and other little things. Get a gummy stone, some West Systems G-Flex epoxy and you're good to go. There are a lot of how-to videos on detuning for park, waxing, maintenance, etc. Check out videos by @DominatorJacques for sure, he's a tuning guru.

This, a basic kit has most of what you need.

Park skis see a lot of abuse, especially on the edges because of rails. De-tuning (rounding) the edges can help prolong the life of the edges, definitely recommended if you like to ski rails a lot. Waxing and base repair however is pretty much the same as other skis, here's a great guide aimed at racers: https://the-raceplace.com/collections/how-to-tune-skis

There's actually a lot to wax in particular, I can go into more detail if you like, but the most basic and important thing is just to keep the skis waxed at all

IsaacNW82This, a basic kit has most of what you need.

Park skis see a lot of abuse, especially on the edges because of rails. De-tuning (rounding) the edges can help prolong the life of the edges, definitely recommended if you like to ski rails a lot. Waxing and base repair however is pretty much the same as other skis, here's a great guide aimed at racers: https://the-raceplace.com/collections/how-to-tune-skis

There's actually a lot to wax in particular, I can go into more detail if you like, but the most basic and important thing is just to keep the skis waxed at all

Would love to hear all the information, really trying to learn a lot, so please share any and everything! :)

ZenyattaKickWould love to hear all the information, really trying to learn a lot, so please share any and everything! :)

So first, you can't talk about wax without talking about bases. Bases are made from Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, under brand names P-Tex and Durasurf) than can be extruded (cheaper skis) or sintered (nicer skis). Basically, its massively long chains of hydrocarbons. Ski wax is ALSO made of long chain hydrocarbons, so due to the chemical similarity they are very compatible and the base material can absorb wax, especially when moderately heated. This process is often described as wax filling in the holes of the base which is technically wrong, its actually filling in the amorphous regions at a molecular level. Because sintered bases have more amorphous regions, they absorb more wax than cheaper extruded bases. When you heat a base (hot wax), it absorbs better and expels the wax when its cold. Rub-on or paste wax might work just about as well, but it won't last as long because its mostly just adhered to the surface vs absorbed deep into the base. One caution though, over-heating the base will damage it and it won't accept as much wax over time.

Generally, warm-temp waxes are softer and cold-temp waxes are harder, softer waxes will penetrate deeper into the base while a harder wax will last longer. What racers do is build up a wax system, starting with a soft base prep/conditioning wax that penetrates deep followed by a harder, temp-specific glide wax, and sometimes even another fast-application layer for fine-tuning during race day. Having a nice "wax system" also means it'll last longer with the combo of a hard wax on the surface and a soft wax deep into the base. When you ski a ski with no wax, you'll "burn" the bases which will then look fuzzy, then you'll have to prep that base again with a fibertex buffing pad to fix it.

When you buy a new ski or get it tuned at the local shop, its probably a cheap shitty all-temp wax, it won't last long nor will it glide as fast. Another note- "all temp" wax is really more of a marketing label than anything technical. High-end race waxes have narrow temp ranges so you can get the most dialed in performance, but often times you'll find a mid-temp race wax is better than an "all-temp" labelled wax at any temperature.

You've probably also heard about Fluoro waxes, basically its an additive that helps at high temps but is banned from most competitions now due to health and environmental reasons. There area alternative additives, but nothing is quite as fast on sloppy wet spring days. Lower and moderate temps, it makes less of a difference. IMO, we're not racers, you can still get amazing performance without them so no need to use them.

On the race side of skiing, base maintenance and waxing is a heavily involved science. On the park and freeride side, lots of skiers don't even really wax their skis... ever. But its often the same base material, same snow, IMO there is a huge middle ground here that might benefit most park and freeride skiers, you don't need to go crazy with it but hitting your skis with some base prep wax occasionally and some nice race wax more frequently might be worth it for lots of people

IsaacNW82So first, you can't talk about wax without talking about bases. Bases are made from Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, under brand names P-Tex and Durasurf) than can be extruded (cheaper skis) or sintered (nicer skis). Basically, its massively long chains of hydrocarbons. Ski wax is ALSO made of long chain hydrocarbons, so due to the chemical similarity they are very compatible and the base material can absorb wax, especially when moderately heated. This process is often described as wax filling in the holes of the base which is technically wrong, its actually filling in the amorphous regions at a molecular level. Because sintered bases have more amorphous regions, they absorb more wax than cheaper extruded bases. When you heat a base (hot wax), it absorbs better and expels the wax when its cold. Rub-on or paste wax might work just about as well, but it won't last as long because its mostly just adhered to the surface vs absorbed deep into the base. One caution though, over-heating the base will damage it and it won't accept as much wax over time.

Generally, warm-temp waxes are softer and cold-temp waxes are harder, softer waxes will penetrate deeper into the base while a harder wax will last longer. What racers do is build up a wax system, starting with a soft base prep/conditioning wax that penetrates deep followed by a harder, temp-specific glide wax, and sometimes even another fast-application layer for fine-tuning during race day. Having a nice "wax system" also means it'll last longer with the combo of a hard wax on the surface and a soft wax deep into the base. When you ski a ski with no wax, you'll "burn" the bases which will then look fuzzy, then you'll have to prep that base again with a fibertex buffing pad to fix it.

When you buy a new ski or get it tuned at the local shop, its probably a cheap shitty all-temp wax, it won't last long nor will it glide as fast. Another note- "all temp" wax is really more of a marketing label than anything technical. High-end race waxes have narrow temp ranges so you can get the most dialed in performance, but often times you'll find a mid-temp race wax is better than an "all-temp" labelled wax at any temperature.

You've probably also heard about Fluoro waxes, basically its an additive that helps at high temps but is banned from most competitions now due to health and environmental reasons. There area alternative additives, but nothing is quite as fast on sloppy wet spring days. Lower and moderate temps, it makes less of a difference. IMO, we're not racers, you can still get amazing performance without them so no need to use them.

On the race side of skiing, base maintenance and waxing is a heavily involved science. On the park and freeride side, lots of skiers don't even really wax their skis... ever. But its often the same base material, same snow, IMO there is a huge middle ground here that might benefit most park and freeride skiers, you don't need to go crazy with it but hitting your skis with some base prep wax occasionally and some nice race wax more frequently might be worth it for lots of people

Wow really like thank you man definitely learned some new stuff and a lot of stuff to consider now! Was kinda like completely unaware of a lot of this information tbh. I have a friend of mine wax my skis but I’m like wanting to start really taking care of mine. So definitely appreciate not only yours but everyone’s help! :)

ZenyattaKickWow really like thank you man definitely learned some new stuff and a lot of stuff to consider now! Was kinda like completely unaware of a lot of this information tbh. I have a friend of mine wax my skis but I’m like wanting to start really taking care of mine. So definitely appreciate not only yours but everyone’s help! :)

No worries! There's some great resources too if you want to go even deeper down the rabbit hole... namely dominator wax's guide: https://dominatorwax.com/pages/technical-education Although be warned, it definitely gets pretty in-depth, the author does have a PhD in chemistry after all...

Someone else pointed this out first, but @DominatorJacques (no relation to Dominator wax...) has made some solid videos about tuning and has some pretty interesting ideas about park ski tunes involving base bevels

ZenyattaKickI was looking at starting to maintain my own park skis, looking for recommendations on wax, and sharpening tools. Thanks in advance ☺

It's long AF, but poke through my park tune video. Main point is the "long" base beveling. Listen, and learn.

ZenyattaKickThanks boss really appreciate the help!

Good folks help.

IsaacNW82No worries! There's some great resources too if you want to go even deeper down the rabbit hole... namely dominator wax's guide: https://dominatorwax.com/pages/technical-education Although be warned, it definitely gets pretty in-depth, the author does have a PhD in chemistry after all...

Someone else pointed this out first, but @DominatorJacques (no relation to Dominator wax...) has made some solid videos about tuning and has some pretty interesting ideas about park ski tunes involving base bevels

I used the Dominator paste waxes all last season. They are F-ing awesome, and no heat from iron needed!
One should base prep, the skis with either a hot base prep. wax first, but the FFC paste even has a prep. cleaner paste!

Gotta' see, and listen to my videos. On my channel, use the search and plug in "paste", "park tune"

Here, I'll get you started.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1065154/Dominator-Paste-Waxes---Application-Cost-Breakdown---Information

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1067707/--YouTube