Roto Brushes - school me.

[givethepigeye]

Ok - never had one, always just hand brush - have nylon, brass, horsehair. Not racing, so really just maintenance and making sure skis can glide a bit. Is there one "all around" roto brush to buy ie. brass/nylon and just use the horsehair to finish off?

I just use Hertels all-temp wax or Spring Solution. Not trying to make this a science.

 

[Scrundy]

Imho blue one is all you’ll use

 

[givethepigeye]

Imho blue one is all you’ll use

as in this one:

Swix Ski Rotobrush - Blue Nylon

Use for final polishing of any waxes, as well as 100% fluoro overlays. Use back and forth with light pressure at 2500rpm, followed by two tip-to-tail finishing strokes

www.tognar.com

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Following.

 

[Sibhusky]

Make sure you buy a shield as well, otherwise you'll be flinging wax dust everywhere.

 

[Prosper]

I have the RaceWax pack of three rotobrushes (brass, nylon and horsehair). I used the brass after cleaning the base and before waxing to open up the base structure. After waxing and scraping I used the nylon brush 1st for 5 passes and the thr horsehair for 5 passes. Bases end up nice and shiny and seem plenty fast. I use Hertels Super Hot Sauce. Works well for me.

 

[TheArchitect]

I have the Racewax rotobrushes as well. They make brushing quick and easy. I haven't used the brass yet but the others do a good job.

 

[Jersey Skier]

Racewax set here too. Takes laziness to a new level.

 

[Snuckerpooks]

From Japan where Gallium is a big manufacturer of wax and tuning stuff. I use their hand brushes and roto-brushes.

They have a 3 pack that comes in a metal suitcase so I feel like a real gangster.
Comes with...
1. boar hair - Great for first passes with hard waxes
2. nylon hard - Finisher for hard waxes and first pass for softer waxes
3. nylon soft - Finisher for softer waxes. Not really stiff enough to remove hard waxes but depends on the wax makers.

EDIT: Looking at OP's question and use case, specifically. For my wife's skis I use "universal wax". After scraping, one pass with the nylon hard is good enough. I do one more roto and then hand brush the last passes with a super soft brush. You can definitely get by with just one roto-brush.

 

[Tom K.]

For the cheapskates:

 

[Sibhusky]

I've got this one and a nylon equivalent that were part of a set, but truly, this would be sufficient.

Part # 3326.2 : FK Tools Ski & Snowboarding Tuning Tools, Waxes and Accessories

FK SKS Tools sells service tools for tuning your ski and snowboarding equipment. Buy our ski edge tools now for increased speed and controlled performance. We inventory the best edge tuners, ski wax, base tools, Ski-Hiker window mount ski racks, vises, file guides, roller edge tuning...

www.fktools-us.com

Plus a shield. I've seen shields between $12 and $35.

 

[az29okg]

Most rotobrushes are 100 mm wide, which is a little too narrow for my skis, especially towards the tail and tips. So what strategy do people use when the brush doesn't fully cover the ski width?

 

[KingGrump]

Most rotobrushes are 100 mm wide, which is a little too narrow for my skis, especially towards the tail and tips. So what strategy do people use when the brush doesn't fully cover the ski width?

Two passes.

 

[Dwight]

I purchased this kit 4 years ago, https://www.racewax.com/zl-7150/, and mainly use the brass and horse hair brushes. They 150mm wide and are holding up great. I do quite a few skis a year.

I think Racewax is having some supply issues. A few weeks ago they had no kits available and now the only kit I see is https://www.racewax.com/zl-7152/ with no shield.

 

[GB_Ski]

Anyone tried the Swix handle with suction? I stopped using my old old Dakine one because it kicks up way too much dust.

 

[Tom K.]

Two passes.

Right?!

I thought maybe it was a trick question.

 

[Wade]

I bought this 150mm set from Sidecut maybe 5 years ago. It's held up great and everything still works well. It's proved to be an excellent investment in my tuning set up. Over the 5 years, it must have saved me a lot of hours of hand brushing.

Roto Brush Kit - 150mm 6 piece System

Check out the deal on Roto Brush Kit - 150mm 6 piece System at SIDECUT

www.sidecut.com

 

[az29okg]

Right?!

I thought maybe it was a trick question.

I was wondering about the overlap with multiple passes. I guess you can't over-brush.

 

[Tom K.]

I was wondering about the overlap with multiple passes. I guess you can't over-brush.

My general thought is that a couple light-ish passes are better than one hard pass, so overlap works fine.

Same with hand brushes.

 

[snwbrdr]

Horsehair and metal brushes, I prefer hand brushes, since you don't need to make many passes with them.

polishing the base with nylon... yes, this is where my bad rotator cuff likes the rotobrush