Waxing Skis

[theyardsaleexpert]

Does anyone here tune their own skis? I’ve found some DIY kits that come with the Ptex, wax, iron, etc. I’m just curious if it’s worth learning to do or if I’ll destroy my husband and my skis. I do have an old beat up pair I can practice on. Or do people just prefer to send theirs to a shop?

 

[marzNC]

Have you had a chance to look at the Gearipedia section? There is a great thread about ski tuning and waxing.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?forums/gearipedia.49/

I started waxing skis with very basic stuff. Mostly because I bought my daughter her first pair of skis after season leases for a couple years. With 2-3 pairs around the house, it became worth the effort. Have never wanted to deal with actually fixing scrapes with Ptex or tuning edges. In fact, I have treated one pair of skis with DPS Phantom so that I won't have to worry about waxing. Will treat my daughter's skis before next season starts. But there are plenty of Divas like @SallyCat who enjoy the process.

 

[MissySki]

Does anyone here tune their own skis? I’ve found some DIY kits that come with the Ptex, wax, iron, etc. I’m just curious if it’s worth learning to do or if I’ll destroy my husband and my skis. I do have an old beat up pair I can practice on. Or do people just prefer to send theirs to a shop?

I love waxing my own skis, and I'll also sharpen my edges by hand with diamond files on an angle guide. I find the whole process really relaxing actually!

Started out by asking for a tutorial from the guys in the shop at the mountain I used to frequent a lot who I'd gotten to know from bringing my skis in often. They showed me everything and specified the exact things to buy. I waxed on my own for awhile before I felt comfortable trying to play with my edges though, but eventually started doing that too. I don't go crazy on my edges, eventually they need a machine tune to really sharpen things up but not that often at all. It keeps everything in great shape most of the time on my own which feels good and can save a ton of money. I also love cleaning my skis and putting storage wax on them to end the season and scraping everything fresh when it's time to start the season!

There is a great thread on this forum for getting started and I know some REIs do classes. Otherwise just ask someone to show you in person like I did.. I have too many questions along the way to just go by reading or Youtube, but some people might be fine with that and they are still super helpful resources as you are getting started. Having skis to practice on also gives you a chance to try it out without the pressure of working on your most loved pairs.

 

[Kimmyt]

Wax is pretty hard to mess up, I'm not super handy but even I can do all our skis. I get edges sharpened when I get a full tune which is way less often than I should be we mostly ski soft snow, so.

Ptex requires special ventilation and stuff so I would leave that to the pros.

 

[theyardsaleexpert]

Have you had a chance to look at the Gearipedia section? There is a great thread about ski tuning and waxing.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?forums/gearipedia.49/

I started waxing skis with very basic stuff. Mostly because I bought my daughter her first pair of skis after season leases for a couple years. With 2-3 pairs around the house, it became worth the effort. Have never wanted to deal with actually fixing scrapes with Ptex or tuning edges. In fact, I have treated one pair of skis with DPS Phantom so that I won't have to worry about waxing. Will treat my daughter's skis before next season starts. But there are plenty of Divas like @SallyCat who enjoy the process.

Thank you!! That’s a great thread!

 

[SallyCat]

Ptex requires special ventilation and stuff so I would leave that to the pros.

Blasphemy!

Just kidding!

P-Tex is a little more intimidating than wax and you do indeed need to run a window fan or something for exhaust. But I practiced a bit on beat-up skis and found it to be very easy once you get over the anxiety of holding a flaming, dripping thing over your skis! Really, it's nothing to be intimidated by, and I find that living in the east, I like to be able to do it myself. If you're out west it's probably mostly a non-issue, as you wouldn't be doing that kind of damage on a regular basis.

With that said, and all my talk about loving to wax and tune, I'm moving into a 600-sq ft. condo soon and I don't know what I'm going to do about ski care. I'm thinking of doing the waxing inside and then the scraping out on the deck, maybe. I MAY have to get a service plan at a shop and just do basic edge maintenance at home. Gasp!

 

[KBee]

I think my dad used to ptex the skis on the bed... Maybe I'm remembering that wrong. Have to ask. My plan is saw horses and a tarp on the porch, though I would prefer a warmer room. It seems like the tune shops are always so hot. Is that for technical reasons?

 

[SallyCat]

I think my dad used to ptex the skis on the bed... Maybe I'm remembering that wrong. Have to ask. My plan is saw horses and a tarp on the porch, though I would prefer a warmer room. It seems like the tune shops are always so hot. Is that for technical reasons?

Yes, the skis need to warm up to room temperature before you apply the wax. I'm not at all sure whether scraping outside would make a difference, but I hope it's ok. Will continue to investigate!

 

[Kimmyt]

With that said, and all my talk about loving to wax and tune, I'm moving into a 600-sq ft. condo soon and I don't know what I'm going to do about ski care. I'm thinking of doing the waxing inside and then the scraping out on the deck, maybe. I MAY have to get a service plan at a shop and just do basic edge maintenance at home. Gasp!

I had a really small apt in Breck one winter and I would wax inside. I bought 2 cheap canvas tarps and put one on the floor and the other over 2 bar stool. It was the perfect height to hold the skis and wax on, and cleanup was fairly simple. I could just roll up the tarps and take them outside and shake into a trash bag and then vacuum up any bits of wax I missed in the apartment.

 

[kiki]

I bring them to the shop
It costs about $16 for the hot hand wax (about half that for a machine wax)
I drop them off at the base of the hill at the end of saturday and grab them on a sunday morning, so don't have to lug them back and forth to the car or store them.
I have found getting it done every 8 or so ski days (ie about once a month) is fine, at least for me skiing west coast groomers.

 

[Jilly]

I get free tunes for sweat equity at our local shop. I'm worried that he might just sell the place or close it. But DH had all the stuff and I kept it. But I'm moving into a condo with no workroom....so not sure what I'll do if anything happens.

 

[racetiger]

I do all my own ski maintenance. It was easy to learn as I had people to watch and with my background it was very similar to other things I've done. We have a bench that we setup in the garage and just have everything there all season. I dont know how I would have done it when I was in my cities apartments. Its super convenient to have buildings outside to do this type of stuff in

 

[SallyCat]

I'm going to try to get a job at a tuning shop next winter. People keep saying "you could be a ski instructor," but honestly, I'm way better at waxing and tuning my skis than I am at actually skiing them!

 

[SallyCat]

I dont know how I would have done it when I was in my cities apartments. Its super convenient to have buildings outside to do this type of stuff in

Is your garage heated?
I don't think I'll mind applying the wax indoors--that's easy to contain, mess-wise. Even scraping is manageable. But brushing, especially with a roto, is too messy for indoors. I wonder if scraping/brushing in the cold would make any difference?

EDIT: Probably the whole complicated logistical process is going to get old pretty quickly in the tiny condo.

 

[marzNC]

For just adding a bit of wax in the midst of a trip, possible to wax in a hotel room or rental condo.

I started out with a cheap household iron <$10 that I only used for waxing skis. Didn't need to wax that often since my daughter and I were only skiing 10-15 days a season back then. As a tween she thought scraping was fun. But that didn't last long. We had skis that I bought used or at good prices during the spring or summer.

From a past thread about waxing by @AltaEgo, one of the Divas who is an instructor in the Mid-Atlantic:

I use an old steam iron that doesn't steam anymore. The biggest hazard is getting the wax too hot. It smokes and if your iron is too hot it can delaminates the skis. I have a iron temp testor (about $3 at fabric store) so I know that anything above low is too hot. Ski specific is better, but I am frugal. I get all temp wax in bulk from Www.tognar.com. You might also look for an edge sharpening tool since just a couple light scrapes at wax time can keep your edges sharp, and less likely to rust. Yes, I admit to being a bit of a gear head. I hate cleaning up the waxing mess so I usually do my storage wax at ski school or in the driveway over sawhorses. But I have waxed skis in a hotel room. IMHO frequent waxing is more important than the wax used. I just use all temp all the time.

 

[racetiger]

Along with electric heaters we have a deisel powered heater that we use that we're borrowing from the neighbors that heats it well. The skis warm up in the house and then they get carried with when i go. Its nice living in the country

 

[alison wong]

@theyardsaleexpert :
REI usually holds couple workshops at each store on waxing and tuning before winter season starts. It is free and open to non-members. I attended one and found it quite useful. It is a "show and tell", not hands on (not allowed to bring your own skis).

From the workshop, I learned the basics (must have vs nice to have) I need to buy for waxing (& tuning).

I am a visual learner. I watched few youtube videos, and read ski forum discussions about waxing and tuning. But I was unable to understand 100% on what needs to be done. I found attending such demo workshop allows me to put all the pieces together.

Check out REI store calendar next season, or get on their mailing list if you are interested.

After discussing with the workshop instructor, I ended up not waxing my own skis. Because I only get to ski b/w 20-30 days a season, it is not really worth the effort. (But I may re-consider next season.)

 

[MissySki]

Years ago I asked the guys in Loon’s ski shop to show me how to tune my skis, at that point I frequented that shop a lot getting my skis taken care of. They obliged at the end of a ski day for a 6 pack of beer haha. Did a demo and also listed out what I needed to buy and good brands to seek out for diamond stones etc. I was so nervous working on my skis myself the first time, but as my confidence grew I’ve found that I really like the routine and find it relaxing. Throw on some tv or music in the background and I’m good to go. I have a dedicated bench area in my finished walk out basement, so everything is ready and waiting to go, comfortable. While I do some light edge work I still usually visit a shop once or twice per season if the base needs work or I really need edge work like after a trip west with too many rocks etc., but I wax every 2-3 ski days whenever I can. I am planning to try Phantom on my most heavily used skis this season just so I might not need to bring them back and forth to the ski condo in Maine as often.

 

[SnowHot]

Years ago I asked the guys in Loon’s ski shop to show me how to tune my skis, at that point I frequented that shop a lot getting my skis taken care of. They obliged at the end of a ski day for a 6 pack of beer haha. Did a demo and also listed out what I needed to buy and good brands to seek out for diamond stones etc. I was so nervous working on my skis myself the first time, but as my confidence grew I’ve found that I really like the routine and find it relaxing. Throw on some tv or music in the background and I’m good to go. I have a dedicated bench area in my finished walk out basement, so everything is ready and waiting to go, comfortable. While I do some light edge work I still usually visit a shop once or twice per season if the base needs work or I really need edge work like after a trip west with too many rocks etc., but I wax every 2-3 ski days whenever I can. I am planning to try Phantom on my most heavily used skis this season just so I might not need to bring them back and forth to the ski condo in Maine as often.

There is something cathartic about waxing and tuning your own skis, eh? I like to do it with a nice glass of scotch on the bench. ;)

 

[tinymoose]

Years ago I asked the guys in Loon’s ski shop to show me how to tune my skis, at that point I frequented that shop a lot getting my skis taken care of. They obliged at the end of a ski day for a 6 pack of beer haha. Did a demo and also listed out what I needed to buy and good brands to seek out for diamond stones etc. I was so nervous working on my skis myself the first time, but as my confidence grew I’ve found that I really like the routine and find it relaxing. Throw on some tv or music in the background and I’m good to go. I have a dedicated bench area in my finished walk out basement, so everything is ready and waiting to go, comfortable. While I do some light edge work I still usually visit a shop once or twice per season if the base needs work or I really need edge work like after a trip west with too many rocks etc., but I wax every 2-3 ski days whenever I can. I am planning to try Phantom on my most heavily used skis this season just so I might not need to bring them back and forth to the ski condo in Maine as often.

This is pretty much what Mark does. We'll get full tunes done at the beginning of the season and then he'll touch up the edges and wax them throughout the year. Maybe one of these years I'll be brave enough to have him teach me. Like you, I'm mostly nervous about messing up my skis, which is why I don't touch them and just let him take care of them.