# tune up and wax em, better than last time



## rocojerry (Nov 25, 2014)

sat down on my couch last night, after some enjoyable 1-on-1 time with my snowboard...    a nice new wax...

i started to youtube and lookup tuning equipment and tutorials, see what i may have done 'wrong' or could have done better....

learned a few tricks that are good for newbies...

-use citrus cleaner?  (i just used a rag and some dish soap)
-open up the pores (recommendation is hair dryer/heat gun --  i just slapped some wax on, and scraped it off hot, but more or less heated/cleaned the board that way)
-learned about the 'crayon' technique -- melt some wax and crayon it on instead of drip...   (i'll probably still mainly drip and spread around, but good to know)
-scrape (maybe i didn't wait long enough, next time will tune up another board or drink another beer first)
-brush/buff (probably could invest in a stiff brush, but the 3m abrasive pad seems to do the trick....

-edges (still need to get better at this, and may not have the right tools, nice little trick I picked up on a youtube video is to 'sharpie' the metal, and go until the black is off... not a bad way for a newbie to see how much metal they are taking off)

not sure if its best to edge after or before the wax....    let me know if you picked up any tips/tricks this year (or over the years)


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## dlague (Nov 25, 2014)

Lots of ideas in here!  There seems to be a boat load of threads covering this topic ranging from sharpening to waxing to frequency.  Listed below are a few (there are more):

http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/124381-Ski-Tuning-and-Waxing?highlight=tuning
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/129601-DIY-Ski-Tuning?highlight=tuning
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showth...en-do-you-sharpen-your-edges?highlight=tuning


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## Hawkshot99 (Nov 25, 2014)

Waxing
-I use ski base cleaner.  Sure some other stuff may work as well, but I dont feel like experimenting.
-I will only wax my skis after they are room temperature.  I do not heat them, but could see it helping.
-I use the crayon method for applying wax.  You will scrape off 90% of the wax anyway, so why waste more than you have to?  I dont feel it takes much longer than dripping as the melting with iron takes less time since it is already equally spread out on the base.
-I usually wait till the ski has cooled back down to room temp to scrape.
-A scotchbrite pad can work for a quick buff after waxing, but I use either a nylon brush, or a horse hair brush that goes on the end of my drill.

Edges
-Good vises, make edge work so much easier.  Not having the ski moving is great!
-I do not like to use files on my skis to often to sharpen.  I dont want to be taking off to much material.
-I use a diamond stone daily or every other day, just to maintain my sharp edges.  I spray the diamond stone with windex for lube(they make a specific lube for this, but I have been told by a tuning supply rep to just use windex).
-I prefer to do my edges before the base.  I dont want to get any edge shavings on my fresh wax job.  Also my file guides do rub on the base while being used, to I dont want to ruin a waxing.


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## dlague (Nov 26, 2014)

Hawkshot99 said:


> -A scotchbrite pad can work for a quick buff after waxing, but I use either a nylon brush, or a horse hair brush that goes on the end of my drill.



I have three brushes a brass brush, a nylon brush and a horse hair brush.  Brushes are import in that they provide texture in the base to make the skis run better.  I agree with you on the brush technique.  Nylon brush first and horse hair to remove wax dust.  I use the brass brush for cleaning.


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## C-Rex (Nov 28, 2014)

Crayon method is where it's at. Dripping just wastes wax and then it takes forever to scrape.

Also get a gummy stone for cleaning up edges. They take off burrs and rust without removing as much material as a normal edge tool.


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## yeggous (Nov 30, 2014)

C-Rex said:


> Crayon method is where it's at. Dripping just wastes wax and then it takes forever to scrape.
> 
> Also get a gummy stone for cleaning up edges. They take off burrs and rust without removing as much material as a normal edge tool.



I just tried the crayon method for the first time last week. It is definitely the way to go. I'm trying to dial in a hybrid method where I use the iron to soften the wax to make crayoning easier.

I'm going to miss the joys of tuning this week. I left my Rossi E88's at the shop at Wildcat for a full tune. The bases are trashed after this weekend.


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## C-Rex (Nov 30, 2014)

yeggous said:


> I just tried the crayon method for the first time last week. It is definitely the way to go. I'm trying to dial in a hybrid method where I use the iron to soften the wax to make crayoning easier.
> 
> I'm going to miss the joys of tuning this week. I left my Rossi E88's at the shop at Wildcat for a full tune. The bases are trashed after this weekend.


Oh yeah, I just touch the wax to the iron on low and then rub it on the board. It's a pain to do it cold.


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## bigbog (Dec 16, 2014)

rocojerry,
Like your using dishsoap...gotta try.


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## Morwax (Dec 17, 2014)

I stopped scraping wax all together. Touch up the edges then clean and hot wax, no scrape. The wax lasts a while instead of two runs and any wax on the edges gets wiped off after a couple turns. Saves a ton of work.


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