{"id":4835,"date":"2018-07-26T01:44:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T01:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/?p=4835"},"modified":"2018-07-26T01:44:41","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T01:44:41","slug":"how-to-glide-wax-skis-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/how-to-glide-wax-skis-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Glide Wax Skis at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
Be honest! When’s the last time you waxed your skis? Nobody likes adding another maintenance task to their list of chores, but waxing is a crucial part of owning a pair of skis. Most skiers are comfortable with kick wax, but they seem to get a little intimidated with glide wax. You don’t have to get intimidated with a little bit of practice glide waxing can be a relaxing chore.<\/p>\n
<\/a>You really don’t need all that much equipment to get into glide waxing. Your biggest expense will probably be your waxing table. If you’re new to waxing I would highly advise you to take a class at your local ski store. The only problem is that most ski stores are ridiculously overpriced on equipment.\u00a0 It’s hard to say how much you’ll actually need to buy because you’ll probably find that you already have a lot of the tools.<\/p>\n Regardless of what you already have in your garage your best bet is probably going to be buying a complete ski and wax tuning kit.\u00a0 The two most popular kits are going to be the Demon Complete Tun and Wax Kit<\/a> and the Racewax Complete Ski and Snowboard Kit.<\/a>\u00a0 Personally I would choose the racewax kit because it has the file guide which makes things a little bit easier, but it’s also more expensive.(another kit also includes a vice<\/a>) They have everything you need to start waxing and tuning up your skis.\u00a0 The only other you’ll need is a bench and possibly vise.\u00a0 \u00a0My all in price was a few hundred bucks most of the cost was the bench.<\/p>\n What You Need:<\/strong><\/p>\n Wax Bench:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>You can use just about any type of workbench or table, but keep in mind waxing is a dirty process.You’re going to have to be extremely careful unless you want to leave behind a ton of wax. Personally I would recommend just sucking it up and getting a Swix Economy Waxing Table<\/a>.\u00a0 At first I tried use my garage workbench, but I got wax everywhere and it was a serious pain in the butt to clean.\u00a0They aren’t entirely necessary but you might want to buy set of ski vices as well<\/a> to make things easier. If you don’t have the vice your skis are going to slip and slide while you’re scraping them.<\/p>\n Wax Iron:<\/strong> Whether or not you need a real waxing iron is a matter of much debate in the ski community. A lot of the old-school skiers claim that you can use any old $5 iron that you find at Goodwill. Personally I think you’re better off getting a real wax iron like this Swix Economy Waxing Iron. Yes you can use a cheap iron, but you risk damaging your skis.<\/p>\n Scraper: <\/strong>The scraper is used to brush off all the excess wax before final cleaning.\u00a0 You’ll probably also want a scraper sharpener to sharpen your plexiglass scraper<\/a>.<\/p>\n Structure Brush:<\/strong>\u00a0 Brushing has two functions; the brushes some of the wax out of the base and adds the structure that you need after the waxing. Most of the time you’re going to need three different brushes. Use the metal and nylon brush to remove the wax and the horsehair brush to give it structure.\u00a0 You can buy the brushes separately, but I would recommend getting this Racewax Brush Set on Amazon<\/a>.\u00a0 You might just save a little cash and you know your getting the right gear.<\/p>\n Corks and Polishing Blocks:<\/strong> Use the cork and polishing blocks to bring the final\u00a0look out of your skis.\u00a0 The cork will generate heat through friction and help get the wax into the base.\u00a0 Polishing block are the finishing touch to any well waxed ski.<\/p>\n Take comfort in the fact that everybody’s afraid to start glide waxing. It really isn’t all that expensive to pay a shop to professionally wax your skis, but those little payments eventually add up. Don’t worry waxing is really easy to learn and you’ll get really good results in no time.These are the most common reasons most people don’t learn how to wax their own skis.<\/p>\n If you check out any major ski wax company you can find a dizzying amount of glide waxes on the market. Not only are there a ton of different manufacturers, you can also choose between sprays, gels, powders,blocks and even liquids. After trying most of these products with varying levels of success I’ve come to the conclusion that you should stick to the basics. Just a plain old block of glide wax is going to be your best bet.<\/p>\n Honestly there is no one best glide wax, personally I’ve been using Swix LF8<\/a> which is a good all around wax. The wax is optimized to work best between 25 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit. I really like how Swix numbers their waxes to specify hardness. The higher the number on the box the higher the temperature it’s meant for.\u00a0 Unless you’re a profession skier you probably would never tell the difference between two similar waxes.<\/p>\nDon’t Be Afraid to Try Glide Waxing.<\/h3>\n
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How To Choose Glide Wax For Cross Country Skis<\/h3>\n
What Do The Different Ski Wax Temperatures Mean?<\/h4>\n