How To Wax Your Skis Or Snowboard
Ski wax was essential to North America’s first downhill skiers, the California gold miners. In the 1850s, to prepare for community ski races, they rubbed their long, wooden skis with concoctions of tree sap, sperm whale fat, vegetable oil and other closely guarded ingredients.
They called the stuff “dope,” probably because the brown, gooey substance looked a lot like opium.
Waxing was essential for wooden skis. With the advent of plastic-based skis in the 1960s, waxing become optional, though companies still have secret concoctions of silicon and fluorinated carbon.
A regular coating of fresh glide wax makes your skis or snowboard last longer, go faster and turn more easily.
If you’ve never waxed before, read on to learn the basics.
Glide wax is applied to the entire base of:
Glide wax is applied only to the tip and tail zones of: Classic cross-country striding skis, including so-called “waxless” skis
Choose a glide wax
There are many kinds of glide wax, from high-fluorocarbon racing varieties to inexpensive powder waxes that leave you some money left over for lunch.
Glide waxes work by momentarily creating a thin layer of water between the ski base and snow surface, and their formula varies according to snow temperature and texture. Color-coded packaging makes shopping easy. You need to predict the approximate temperature of the snow you’ll be skiing. You’ll have to experiment to figure out what works best under specific conditions.
Most of us are fine using a universal wax that works OK in all temperatures. A 2-wax system (one for temps above freezing, the other for temps below freezing) offers similar convenience.
In a pinch, you can use a rub-on wax, applied with a sponge in the ski area parking lot. But rub-on wax is no real substitute for a hot wax job.
Prepare the skis
Retract the ski brake by depressing the pedal. The arms will pop up. Hook a large, strong rubber band on one arm, take it over the top of the heel piece and hook it to the other arm. This holds the brakes out of the way while you wax.
Flip the ski base-up and tighten a vise around the middle of the ski to hold it securely in place. You can also place your skis on blocks to support the tips and tails.
Using a clean rag, moistened with a little alcohol (not base cleaner), wipe off any dust or debris. Allow to dry, about 20 minutes.
Apply the wax
Waxing application requires an iron that maintains its temperature well. Typical home irons have a lot of temperature fluctuation, so ski waxing irons are recommended.
Power up the iron. The temperature should be lower for softer/warmer wax and higher for harder/colder wax. The approximate iron temperature is often printed on the wax box (likely between 248 degrees and 284 degrees).
Hold a chunk of wax against the base of the iron and let it drip onto the ski as it melts. Hold the iron 2” to 4” inches above the ski and move it from tip to tail and side to side, letting the molten wax droplets cover the base completely.
Place the iron on the ski base and spread the wax over the entire base until a layer of wax coats the whole surface. Don’t hold the iron in one place for too long, as this could cause the ski base to blister. Make sure that the wax melts all the way across the ski, from edge to edge and tip to tail. If an area is too dry, add more wax. The wax layer should be thin enough that one end dries as you reach the other end.
Wait for the wax to cool and dry completely (30 minutes to 1 hour). Don’t cool the ski outside because that will cause the wax to get pushed back up out of the pores of the ski.
Carefully clean your iron so the current wax doesn’t mix with the next round.
Scraping and brushing
Using a plastic (not metal) scraper, scrape the base from tip to tail, removing excess wax in overlapping, continuous strokes. You are finished when the base of the ski is nearly free of visible wax. Wax will remain in the pores of the base.
Make sure to scrape the edges of the ski. Some plastic scrapers have a small notch for this purpose.
Brush the ski base to bring out the structure or texture of the base, which increases your speed. Brushes vary based on size, stiffness and material. A stiff, nylon brush is a good all-purpose choice. Brush from tip to tail, using about 15-20 strokes.
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