News

Ski Preparation for new and newly ground skis

Gus Kaeding- SMST2 Elite Team Head Coach and Service Technician

November 5^th, 2012

Note: This is the first installment of the behind the scenes look at the 2012-13 SMST2 Elite team and their systematic approach to waxing. Look for more updates and reports as the season progresses.

The newly formed SMST2 has partnered with Swix in an effort to make the fastest possible skis for our athletes on race day. With ski season rapidly approaching, it’s time to get ahead of the game and prepare both the new skis and the reground skis for the athletes.

A systematic approach to service and waxing best serves the athletes, the team as a whole and provides the greatest chance for success on race day. This systematic approach starts with a structured and comprehensive plan for “prepping” new and newly ground skis. The following paragraphs will outline the steps that the SMST2 team takes to prepare their skis for the racing season.

New skis off the rack:

In the past several years, all ski manufactures are producing skis, which have been very well prepared at the factory. In fact, one manufacture does apply a coat of Swix LF glide wax to their racing skis directly at the factory after the grinding process. Overall, the quality of the finished product coming out of any ski manufacture’s factory has risen in the past 3-4 years.

Given this increase in quality, there are a number of racers and skiers in general who do not regrind their skis and use the factory grinds. If you choose not to customize your skis and get an additional grind here are the steps the SMST2 uses to get these new skis up to speed.

Items needed:

Swix BP99, CH10, LF6, CH6, Steel (T0179 or T0191) or Bronze (T0162) Brush, Swix Waxing iron (T73 or T72) and Glide Wax Cleaner (I84)

Important Points:

Make sure to always wax in a well-lit and well-ventilated room.

Glide waxing in a room at or close to normal room temperature is advised.

Always wear a protective mask or respirator that will block organic vapors and dust particles.

Throughout the entire process, allow each layer of wax to cool completely (approximately 5 min), then scrape/brush and continue with the next layer.

Step-by-Step process:

-Scrape existing glide wax from the ski and brush

-Moisten a piece of Fiberlene with Glide Wax Cleaner (I84) and apply to the glide zone of the base

-Brush back and forth with a nylon brush, then wipe off excess and let dry 5-10 minutes

-Saturate base with 3 layers of CH10

-1 layer of BP99

-1 layer of CH6

-Alternate 5 layers of BP99 and CH10 (3 of BP99 and 2 of CH10)

-1 layer of CH6

-1 layer of LF6

-Final scrape, brush and time to ski!

The theory here is to get 12 layers of volume wax into the bases. As talked about previously, when skis come off the shelf, most do not have wax on them and are often very dry. Thus, the skis are thirsty for wax and have an accumulation of dust and dirt on the base.

Glide wax cleaner is a must. It is quicker than “hot-scraping” and does a better job removing the foreign contaminates that are on the base.

Next, it is important to saturate the base with soft waxes. I like to use CH10 and BP99 because it is easy to work with and has a very low melting point. This will minimize wear of the base and potential for burning (which closes the ski base pores). We use this wax continuously through the season as a base layer for this very reason.

Alternating in a few layers of harder wax (CH6) will help bond the warmer waxes into the base. Though, if too many colder layers are used the bases will become very hard and unresponsive to future waxes and hand structuring.

Cera F, HF and LF waxes are not overly important to me until it becomes time to race but finishing with a layer of LF6 should help the skis be fast right out of the gate. Throughout the entire process, I like using the Swix fine steel brush (T0191) because it is the best/fastest for removing excess wax from the bases.

Skis with a new grind:

Athletes/racers as well as sport enthusiasts will have older skis in their ski bag. Often, these skis are good, but need to have a new grind applied to the base, either because of use from the previous season, or to perhaps apply a different structure for a certain snow condition. In these cases, the steps taken to bring these skis back up to speed is similar to preparing a new/off the rack ski.

Items needed:

Swix BP99, LF6, CH6, Steel (T0179 or T0191) or Bronze (T0162) Brush, Swix Waxing iron (T73 or T72) and Swix Glide Wax Cleaner (I84)

Important Points:

Make sure to always wax in a well-lit and well-ventilated room.

Glide waxing in a room at or close to normal room temperature is advised.

Always wear a protective mask or respirator that will block organic vapors and dust particles.

Throughout the entire process, allow each layer of wax to cool completely (approximately 5 min), then scrape/brush and continue with the next layer.

Step-by-Step process:

-Scrape existing glide wax from the ski and brush

-Moisten a piece of Fiberlene with Glide Wax Cleaner (I84) and apply to the glide zone of the base

-Brush back and forth with a nylon brush, then wipe off excess and let dry 5-10 minutes

-1 layer BP99

-3 layers CH6

-1 layer BP99

-1 layer LF6

-Scrape, brush and ski!

Skis with a fresh custom grind require considerably less waxing. Even though they have been reground, these skis tend to bounce back quicker than new skis after grinding, due to the wax penetration from previous years. After this, the skis will actually need some hardening. Thus, you’ll see the above process has considerably more cold wax than the “Off the rack” process.

Once these steps are complete, all of the athlete’s skis will be ready for training and race day waxing. Ski maintenance will include glide cleaning and glide waxing after training or racing, as well as kick wax removal and cleaning for classic skis. Stay tuned for more tips and insights on the SMST2 wax and service program.