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Waxing on the snow

Zirbl

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Apologies, this must have been asked before, but my search hasn't thrown up anything, and the commercial materials I could find don't really make it clear.

In the places I ski, if you're not staying in an expensive place with a dedicated wax room, you're not getting your skis past the landlady, so forget indoor prep with vises, benches, anything like that. The current routine is a service at a decent shop every five or six days plus a daily polish with a diamond stone kneeling down on the snow. Seems to work out fine for the edges, but could do with an equivalent solution for the bases. On the typical hardpack machine snow I'm on they can need attention daily. I know I should be brushing, hot waxing, scraping, more brushing, but it's got to be something that works at the foot of the lift station. Do these solid wax sticks with a felt ( ), pastes, waxes suspended in a solvent etc. cut it for a daily top-up between weekly hot waxes, or are they only really good for a run or two?

Thanks.
 

silverback

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I use Homenkol liquid with good results but I’m sure it is similar.
 
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Zirbl

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Thanks @KingGrump . Am I to take it that spray-on paraffin does the job and other stuff I mentioned doesn't, or is that just your preferred product?
 

silverback

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048E72AE-44D9-4CFE-BF37-898F4FDAEDF8.jpeg
 

Philpug

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Toko Liquid Paraffins...

 

KingGrump

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Thanks @KingGrump . Am I to take it that spray-on paraffin does the job and other stuff I mentioned doesn't, or is that just your preferred product?

I've used most of the quick waxes out there. Rub on, paste, brush on liquid and spray. The Toko liquid paraffin is one of the easiest and more durable of the bunch. I used the yellow in the spring almost daily when I don't get around to hot waxing.

Disclaimer: Toko is a sponsor of this site.
 

tch

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If you're a Mike Desantis fan, you can use a Pro-Glide waxer in-room. I'm not sure I'm completely sold, but I think it's gotta be better than just wiping on some liquid wax.
 

cantunamunch

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If you're a Mike Desantis fan, you can use a Pro-Glide waxer in-room. I'm not sure I'm completely sold, but I think it's gotta be better than just wiping on some liquid wax.

The Pro-Glide works fine, artificial cork works fine for CH6 and higher, but you're really never going to get CH5 or harder in there without going liquid.
 
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Zirbl

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Thanks everyone. So I really can't do this without hydrocarbons?
 
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cantunamunch

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So I really can't do this without hydrocarbons?

Waxes are hydrocarbons, at least the simple waxes. :) So, unless you're using a silicone-based polymer or something, no :)

Can you do it without volatile solvents? Sure.

Get a soft to medium wax, crayon it on, use a cork to rub it in. If you can rub your hands hard enough to get them to feel warm, you can do this. XC skiers do it all the time.

You won't be able to use a super hard wax, no. But you're in Europe - you're probably *not* skiing at -15C or below
 
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Zirbl

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Waxes are hydrocarbons, at least the simple waxes. :) So, unless you're using a silicone-based polymer or something, no :)
How then is Holmenkol's eco stuff biodegradable? Are they using something-plant based, or just stretching the term?

Get a soft to medium wax, crayon it on, use a cork to rub it in. If you can rub your hands hard enough to get them to feel warm, you can do this.
Done this, but only in warm spring conditions. Assumed hard snow would pull it all off pretty quickly. Happy with this if it works all season.
 

cantunamunch

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How then is Holmenkol's eco stuff biodegradable? Are they using something-plant based, or just stretching the term?

It's all greenwash marketing and 19th century farm romanticism.

Hydrocarbon biodegradation uses the same pathways no matter the source - we have several thousand strains of microbes that can do it. The problem is that
a) biodegradation sucks oxygen like crazy - no matter the source
b) intermediate products (oxygenated hydrocarbons) tend to be worse for human toxicity than the original
c) you wind up making methane and carbon dioxide, yay - wait, weren't those the problem gases in the first place?
 

silverback

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My mistake. I thought ts just wanted to wax his skis when he didn’t have access to a tuning room.
 

SpeedyKevin

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Toko Liquid Paraffins...

Was considering trying these for their ease-of-use but $30 does kind of feel steep compared to the number of days I get out of a 400g block of wax (ok time spent waxing is different but hmmm...). I am considering the yellow though for spring use along with Dominator FFc2


EDIT: i mean blue or red for icy mornings with a base of ffc2 for the soft afternoon stuff. Is that the ideal way to go? Or just go with yellow since it can easily be refreshed every night
 
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