Tuning downhill skis is essential to maintaining their precision. Downhill skis can lose their wax during the ski season, becoming dry and losing their gliding ability. This condition can make downhill skis more difficult to turn and lead to excessive wear, especially along the base of your skis. Even if you take your downhill skis to a professional for tuning at the beginning of the ski season, you can maintain their condition throughout the season by yourself.
Step 1
Secure your ski brakes with a thick rubber band. Secure the skis on a workbench or place your skis flat upon the seat of two appropriately spaced chairs.
Step 2
Clean debris out of any gouges using a polishing cloth.
Step 3
Light a P-tex rod and melt its wax into the gouges. Scrape the excess P-tex wax with a metal scraper after the wax dries to ensure a smooth and flat running surface.
Step 4
Set a steel file in a file guide at a bevel of between 0.5 degrees and 2.5 degrees, GORP.com recommends. Looked at another way, sharpen the edges of your downhill skis at an angle of between 90.5 degrees and 92.5 degrees between the side and the bottom of the skis. Run the file in the guide from the tip to the tail of each ski to remove metal burrs and create a bevel.
Step 5
Clean the surface of each ski using a polishing cloth to brush away any debris.
Step 6
Set a clothes iron to its lowest setting. Plug it into an electrical outlet until it achieves the desired temperature. Press one corner of a bar of wax onto the surface of the iron and drip wax along the length of each ski. Tognar Toolworks recommends using hydrocarbon wax for most downhill skis because it provides quality protection for the ski bases, allowing for better performance.
Step 7
Iron the wax from tip to tail along the running surface of the skis while the wax is still warm.
Step 8
Scrape the excess wax from the running surface of the downhill ski using a metal scraper after the wax cools.
Things You'll Need
- Thick rubber band
- Workbench or 2 chairs
- Polishing cloth
- P-tex rod
- Metal scraper
- Steel file
- File guide
- Clothes iron
- Hydrocarbon wax
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