cold-weather wax

It's been near zero some days here in the Northeast, and glide wasn't so good.
Skis felt sticky. So I bought some cold-weather wax -- Swix CH4. specifically.
I can get it to melt and drip onto the skis, but by the time I get the whole
ski covered and go back to spread it in, it seems to have hardened up and won't
melt and spread easily. In some spots, it sort of forms a tiny cookie and falls
off. What gives? Do I have a crummy iron that isn't hot enough? Have I toasted
the bases so they won't take wax? I don't have this problem with warmer waxes
-- they soak right in, no problem, and the whole thing, brushing and all,
barely takes 15 minutes. I'm a good mind to stick to so-called all-conditions
wax, then smear on some liquid or paste wax.

in article , Dhillus at
wrote on 1/26/04 7:20 PM:

It's been near zero some days here in the Northeast, and glide wasn't so good.
Skis felt sticky. So I bought some cold-weather wax -- Swix CH4. specifically.
I can get it to melt and drip onto the skis, but by the time I get the whole
ski covered and go back to spread it in, it seems to have hardened up and
won't
melt and spread easily. In some spots, it sort of forms a tiny cookie and
falls
off. What gives? Do I have a crummy iron that isn't hot enough? Have I toasted
the bases so they won't take wax? I don't have this problem with warmer waxes
-- they soak right in, no problem, and the whole thing, brushing and all,
barely takes 15 minutes. I'm a good mind to stick to so-called all-conditions
wax, then smear on some liquid or paste wax.

Turn up the iron. Blue has a higher melting point, same thing happens to me
on the rare occasions I actually wax for those conditions. I'd rather stay
in the lodge.

"Dhillus" wrote in message
...
It's been near zero some days here in the Northeast, and glide wasn't so
good.
Skis felt sticky. So I bought some cold-weather wax -- Swix CH4.
specifically.
I can get it to melt and drip onto the skis, but by the time I get the
whole
ski covered and go back to spread it in, it seems to have hardened up and
won't
melt and spread easily. In some spots, it sort of forms a tiny cookie and
falls
off. What gives? Do I have a crummy iron that isn't hot enough?

Most likely, yes. CH4 (or any 4 that SWIX makes) requires that the iron be
set to 150 degrees celcius. That's hot! If you hit the droplet after it
has cooled with an iron edge, you'll knock it right off the base -
especially if the iron is not hot enough. Try getting the iron to go over
the top of the cooled droplets to get them to start to flatten out. SWIX
makes a nice iron that has the settings based on the type of wax that you
are using. Regular irons do not do as good a job with tempertaure
regulation and there really is no way to know if you have the temperature
correct.

Have I toasted the bases so they won't take wax?

Most likely, no. If you toast your bases, it'll be pretty obvious. Cold
wax and a crappy iron is, however, one really good way to go about toasting
your bases.

You may need to get your skis base ground and have some structure put in
them. You need structure in the bases for good gliding and to avoid
stiction. The structure will also help to hold the cooled droplet to the
ski base.

I don't have this problem with warmer waxes
-- they soak right in, no problem, and the whole thing, brushing and all,
barely takes 15 minutes.

Warm temperature waxes are easy to work with. Cold wax is a pain to work
with.

I'm a good mind to stick to so-called all-conditions
wax, then smear on some liquid or paste wax.

Get a good iron, make sure that your bases have the proper structure and
that they are flat. And, be more patient with the cold temperature waxes.
Make sure that you wax at room temperature and try not to let the droplets
cool too much (if possible) before going over them with the iron. When you
scrape, you may want to warm scrape. The 4 gets so brittle that it'll chip
off instead of peel off like the warmer waxes do.

Hope that helps.
--
Marty

(Dhillus) wrote in
:

It's been near zero some days here in the Northeast, and glide wasn't
so good. Skis felt sticky. So I bought some cold-weather wax -- Swix
CH4. specifically. I can get it to melt and drip onto the skis, but by
the time I get the whole ski covered and go back to spread it in, it
seems to have hardened up and won't melt and spread easily. In some
spots, it sort of forms a tiny cookie and falls off. What gives? Do I
have a crummy iron that isn't hot enough? Have I toasted the bases so
they won't take wax? I don't have this problem with warmer waxes --
they soak right in, no problem, and the whole thing, brushing and all,
barely takes 15 minutes. I'm a good mind to stick to so-called
all-conditions wax, then smear on some liquid or paste wax.

Slightly hotter iron will help, pre-heat the base a little using the iron
before you apply the wax, don't try to do the whole ski at once with cold
weather wax.

/Tommy P.

Marty, what is the 'structure' you refer to??
Chas

SchnauzerDad wrote:

Marty, what is the 'structure' you refer to??
Chas

He's talking about surface texture on the base - using various
combinations of grinders and wire brushes race technicians have
discovered that textures can make the ski faster, as it breaks up
snow/liquid/base surface tension. We ski weenies like to call it
"structure" and spend time with horse hair and brass brushes brushing
the wax out of the structure after we wax. Great chance to spend on gear
- don't forget a roto-brush.

In a serious race tuneup the tuner might set up several pairs of
identical skis with slightly different structures and waxes, then he and
the racer will select the appropriate pair after studying the snow with
thermometers, humidity meters, and a microscope at the exact time of the
race.

Civilians usually just go with a simple linear texture from a well set
up stone grinder i..e they accept whatever structure the shop tuneup
produces. For most real-life situations it doesn't matter at all.

Am I mistaken, but did you say brush the wax out of the base?
Could you explain the method in steps? I have a well equipped shop and maybe
I could do similar.
Chas



"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...
SchnauzerDad wrote:

Marty, what is the 'structure' you refer to??
Chas

He's talking about surface texture on the base - using various
combinations of grinders and wire brushes race technicians have
discovered that textures can make the ski faster, as it breaks up
snow/liquid/base surface tension. We ski weenies like to call it
"structure" and spend time with horse hair and brass brushes brushing
the wax out of the structure after we wax. Great chance to spend on gear
- don't forget a roto-brush.

In a serious race tuneup the tuner might set up several pairs of
identical skis with slightly different structures and waxes, then he and
the racer will select the appropriate pair after studying the snow with
thermometers, humidity meters, and a microscope at the exact time of the
race.

Civilians usually just go with a simple linear texture from a well set
up stone grinder i..e they accept whatever structure the shop tuneup
produces. For most real-life situations it doesn't matter at all.

"SchnauzerDad" wrote in message
. net...
Am I mistaken, but did you say brush the wax out of the base?

Yup, kinda sad, but true. Most of the wax you apply ends up on the shop
floor.

Could you explain the method in steps? I have a well equipped shop and
maybe
I could do similar.

You sure can. It's easy and very effective. Check out this place:
http://www.the-raceplace.com

Specifically, see this: http://www.the-raceplace.com/waxing.htm

His tuning video is pretty darn good too.
--
Marty

Your iron may simply not be able to handle CH4, or not safely. You
can get a good multiple-temp wax iron, or you can wing it.

Another thing that helps is to buy your CH4 in powdered form (they
call it "cold powder"). I went out today and it was, I dunno, maybe
low teens tops. I'd waxed with blue (CH6), sprinkled it with cold
powder while warm, and then ironed in the green. That mix worked
out quite well.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

Mary Malmros wrote:

Your iron may simply not be able to handle CH4, or not safely. You
can get a good multiple-temp wax iron, or you can wing it.

Another thing that helps is to buy your CH4 in powdered form (they
call it "cold powder"). I went out today and it was, I dunno, maybe
low teens tops. I'd waxed with blue (CH6), sprinkled it with cold
powder while warm, and then ironed in the green. That mix worked
out quite well.

I imagine that you are thinking of the fluro waxes. In the Swix line
they are HFx for High Fluro. The CHx series are hydrocarbon ie paraffin
with (mostly micro-wax) additives. Nothing special(, and it's pretty
hard to "powder" paraffin.)