Can you over brush your bases by hand?

[crgildart]

I have NEVER brushed wax. It's fairly often that I don't even remember to scrape it. Maked the first couple turns on the snow a bit sketchy... and I'm like all OH DAMN!... Too late now..

 

[gilligan]

I am by no means an expert in the art of waxing skis. My knowledge consists of youtube videos, reading advice here from folks who know what they're talkingng about, like Jacques, and tuniing and waxing my own skis for the last 10 or 12 years. That said, my advice is, unless you're racing, don't over think it. I used to start with brass, then nylon and ended with horsehair and polishing with a nylon pad. I never thought I was getting that much bang for the buck with the nylon so I skipped it and have noticed no difference. Now it's wax, scrape, brass, horsehair and done. And that's probably overkill but it gives me an excuse to exit the henhouse and drink a couple of beers in the garage.

 

[Noodler]

The SVST radial brushes are a nice improvement over the typical flat faced brushes.

 

[Jacques]

I am by no means an expert in the art of waxing skis. My knowledge consists of youtube videos, reading advice here from folks who know what they're talkingng about, like Jacques, and tuniing and waxing my own skis for the last 10 or 12 years. That said, my advice is, unless you're racing, don't over think it. I used to start with brass, then nylon and ended with horsehair and polishing with a nylon pad. I never thought I was getting that much bang for the buck with the nylon so I skipped it and have noticed no difference. Now it's wax, scrape, brass, horsehair and done. And that's probably overkill but it gives me an excuse to exit the henhouse and drink a couple of beers in the garage.

Not overkill.

 

[eok]

Pre-wax, I usually brush modestly with brass & then follow with a modest pass with green Scotchbrite. I always do this post-tuning. Sometimes preceded by a hot scrape (if lots of grime/gunk).

After wax & scrape, I brush by hand with nylon and then brush with a soft-ish horsehair brush, followed by a few final polish passes with a large felt pad.

Nope, don't use a roto-brush. Just elbow grease.

This is what I've done *forever* & I ain't 'hankerin to change things. Now 'git off my lawn.

 

[Noodler]

Doing a good rotobrush job isn't for the unprepared. The speed of the brush and the pressure applied are critical to getting good results. Hand brushing is way less risky and there's a nice mental soothing aspect to it that I enjoy as you stroke your skis.

 

[snwbrdr]

Hand brush: brass and horsehair
Roto: nylon.

My bad rotator cuff appreciates the rotobrush for the nylon, especially on a snowboard.

 

[sparty]

Doing a good rotobrush job isn't for the unprepared. The speed of the brush and the pressure applied are critical to getting good results. Hand brushing is way less risky and there's a nice mental soothing aspect to it that I enjoy as you stroke your skis.

I agree entirely on both points, but having just acquired a rotobrush setup, I can't believe I waited this long. As much as I enjoy the zen aspect of thoroughly hand-brushing my skis in prep for wax application, rotobrushing is soooo much quicker. Doing one pair of skis, it probably wouldn't be worth buying the tools and then having to mask up, but with my quiver plus my wife's skis to deal with, a few minutes saved per pair adds up quickly.

I do believe the usual power-tool caveat applies: the correct power tool makes everything more efficient, including screwing up.

 

[Jacques]

The key to easy hand brushing is to fully scrape the base first!
I think the roto-brush lovers just don't scrape good enough. Or didn't, so that's why they had the trouble hand brushing.

 

[crgildart]

The key to easy hand brushing is to fully scrape the base first!
I think the roto-brush lovers just don't scrape good enough. Or didn't, so that's why they had the trouble hand brushing.

Sharp scraper is the key..

 

[Jacques]

Sharp scraper is the key..

Yes, but not too sharp for scraping wax! Just enough.

 

[Noodler]

I don't even need to scrape since I started using the lint-free shop wipes in the "fiberlene method". Best part is the much easier clean-up. No wax shavings anywhere. The only change I needed to make was going to a combo brass+horsehair hand brush.

 

[gilligan]

Sharp scraper is the key..

Yup. I bought scraper sharpener that I mounted on my workbench. Makes scraping so much easier and effective.

 

[gilligan]

Yes, but not too sharp for scraping wax! Just enough.

Noted.

 

[KingGrump]

Noted.

FYI, @Jacques is talking about the steel scraper he uses for wax removal. Not the usual plexi ones.

A manual one like the Toko with the pansar file is pretty nice. Still hard to beat one with a motor.

vs

 

[François Pugh]

Yup. I bought scraper sharpener that I mounted on my workbench. Makes scraping so much easier and effective.

Which one did you buy?

 

[gilligan]

FYI, @Jacques is talking about the steel scraper he uses for wax removal. Not the usual plexi ones.

Ahh, thanks for clarifying. I use plexiglass. Don't feel confident enough to use a steel scraper on anything but P-Tex. And I have the manual one. But maybe the one with a motor will be on Christmas list.

 

[gilligan]

Which one did you buy?

I have a Swix manual sharpener with a panser file.

 

[sparty]

I have a Swix manual sharpener with a panser file.

Do you find that it actually gets the scraper back to original sharpness?

I've been finding that it works reasonably well, and definitely not well enough to justify buying a power sharpener (let alone justify one to the wife), but when I pull out a new scraper I'm reminded that it's not as good as factory. I'm debating trying to re-edge the scraper with a cutting or grinding blade on the dremel and then even out any irregularities with the sharpener/panzer.

 

[Jacques]

Ahh, thanks for clarifying. I use plexiglass. Don't feel confident enough to use a steel scraper on anything but P-Tex. And I have the manual one. But maybe the one with a motor will be on Christmas list.

See post #3 above to see how I do it. Steel last "forever". Still need to sharpen from time to time. Easy with files and sandpaper.
A new plastic scraper can be very sharp too. Sharper than the steel I use for scraping wax.