How to Wax Snow Skis

So you want to know how to wax your skis for the winter ski season? This guide will provide you the essential information you will need to keep your skis fast and in good shape.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Base Cleaner
• Paper Towels
• SKI Wax = Important
• Wax Scraper
• Iron
• Polisher
• Brush

1. The first thing you must do is ensure that your skis are at room temperature. If you just came off the snow, you need to wait about 30 minutes for them to warm up. To expedite the process, use a towel to wipe off snow and water. Failing to let skis warm up to room temperature will result in a "warp" of the ski base which can destroy your base and ruin the ski.

2. This is an example of what it looks like. Follow bottle's instructions.

   Once the ski is at room temperature, you need to wipe the ski down with a base cleaner. A base cleaner is a substance that cleans the base of the ski by removing dirt, old wax, and other foreign substances. I recommend putting the cleaner on a paper towel and wiping down the base of the ski until entire base of ski is covered in fluid. * You should be able to notice where you missed by recognizing dry spots on the ski. *
   Once you are finished cleaning the base, let the fluid dry completely. The ski will have a dry look as opposed to a wet look.

3. This iron is designed for waxing skis.

   Before you apply the wax, you will want to have an iron heating up to save time. What kind of iron will you need? Any iron from your local Wal-Mart or store will work but make sure there are no holes in the bottom of the iron. How hot should the iron be? It depends on your iron' s settings. As a rule of thumb, you want it hot enough to melt the wax, but too hot will damage the ski. Find the level by turning the temperature down until the wax stops melting.

4. 

   Once the ski is dry, it is now time to apply the wax. Before you can wax, you must make sure you have the correct type of wax. You want to have SKI WAX and not candle wax or any other kind of wax. You can find ski wax on the internet for rather cheap.

5. The method here to wax skis is to rub on the wax by simply taking the wax and rubbing it onto the base of the ski. Once the entire ski is covered in wax, you can begin to iron it. *Note* The amount of wax does not equal speed. For example, if you put a ton of wax on, it will not make you faster ... Just a waste of wax. So put the minimum amount possible on.

6. Now take your iron and iron the ski ... similar to ironing a shirt. You want to make sure you iron with the grains and not side to side. Failing to do this will leave scratches in your base. Iron ski until base has no dry spots. *NOTE* Your base will absorb wax into the base so you will notice dry spots where more wax might be needed. Let wax cool down.

7. You can use the back of your hand against the wax to determine its temperature. It should be cool but not warm. This might take a few minutes. Never touch with your fingers because your fingers have oils from your skin that shouldn't be on your ski.

8. 

   Once the wax has cooled down, you want to scrape off the excess wax. To do this you can purchase a "wax scraper" or use a flat edge from a piece of plastic... an ice scraper would work. Scrape off excess wax. Usually one or two swipes down the ski will work. Wax shavings will get all over the place so plan on that happening. *NOTE* Don't shave to much off, if you don't know how much to shave off, don't worry, the snow will take excess wax off once you hit the slopes.

9. These are sample nylon pads to use.

   Once you have scraped off the excess wax, you want to polish it with a polisher. A simple nylon pad will work. You want to rub the ski from tip to tail in long strokes. No more than a few strokes. The purpose of this is to evenly distribute the wax and give your base a nice looking finish. If you see an area where the scrapper didn't remove enough wax, rub a little harder to spread out the thick part.

10. 

    Finally, to complete the wax, simply take a brush with stiff bristles and rub down the ski. Two swipes per ski is sufficient. Don't press to hard but hard enough to remove any excess wax particles or shavings.

11. Hit the slopes and have a great day.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to follow all instructions carefully. Skis are expensive so you don't want to ruin them by not reading carefully.

• Make sure you use proper equipment. I included links to sites for great equipment.