Skis need waxing to glide easily over the snow. Waxing skis can be an art form, as it takes talent to create the perfect base for your skis. Manufacturers have developed different hardness levels of wax with each one used for different ambient temperatures, providing you with the best ski experience. Waxing new skis requires a bit more work than waxing older skis but it is worth the effort once you are on the slopes.
Step 1
Clamp your new ski into a ski vise. Use painter's tape and cover over the bindings to protect them.
Step 2
Scrape the factory wax off to clean new skis before waxing. Use a hot-wax scrape method with a warm temperature wax. A warm temperature ski wax is normally used when the air temperature for your skiing conditions is 25 to 35 degrees F. Set the heat on the waxing iron to the recommended melting point of the warm temperature wax. This may vary from wax to wax, so consult the wax manufacturer's instructions.
Step 3
Drip melted wax down the entire length of the ski, starting and the tip and ending at the tail. Hold the waxing iron at a slight angle over the ski and press the wax against the iron. Drip dime size beads of wax, 1 to 1 1/2 cm apart down the ski from tip to tail, making three passes over the ski.
Step 4
Place the waxing iron on the ski and make one or two quick passes over the ski to smooth the beads of wax. Start at the tip of the ski and move the iron slowly in one fluid motion to the tail. Do not place any pressure on the waxing iron, allow the weight of the iron to do the work. Repeat this ironing motion two or three times down the length of the ski.
Step 5
Allow the wax to cool for 15 to 20 minutes then scrape the wax from the ski with a plastic ski wax scraper. Hold the scrapper at a slight angle toward the tip and against the ski. Place both hands on the scraper and apply gentle pressure against the ski as you pull the scrapper from the tip to the tail of the ski using long, smooth scrapes. The goal is to remove layers of wax without damaging the ski and leaving a clean surface to build on.
Step 6
Brush away any remaining wax with a nylon ski brush until not much wax come off the surface.
Step 7
Wax your new, clean skis using a wax whose temperature rating corresponds with the weather conditions where you ski. Drip melted beads of wax onto your skis as you did when you cleaned the factory wax from the ski.
Step 8
Draw the waxing iron slowly over the ski two or three times to melt and smooth the wax on the ski. Allow the ski to cool for 15 to 20 minutes and scrape the wax smooth.
Step 9
Repeat the process of dripping melted wax onto the skis, iron and scraping two or three times until the wax is built up on the ski base to your desired level.
Things You'll Need
- Ski vise
- Warm temperature ski wax
- Waxing iron
- Plastic ski wax scraper
- Nylon ski brush
- Ski wax for your ski conditions
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