Ski maintenance

What exactly are you fixing and maintaining on your skis? Really all you need is a wax and p-Tex kit, if you get edge cracks there’s that whole edge crack repair thread

Coochieman7What exactly are you fixing and maintaining on your skis? Really all you need is a wax and p-Tex kit, if you get edge cracks there’s that whole edge crack repair thread

How much does it cost to build a maintenance and get this stuff?

RusteezeHow much does it cost to build a maintenance and get this stuff?

You can get the dakine kit which is like 65 without the iron or more with the iron.

you can go cheaper by sourcing stuff separately too. People sell this stuff on Facebook quite a bit. Also call ski shops, you could get lucky with some older iron that they don’t use anymore

muffMan.You can get the dakine kit which is like 65 without the iron or more with the iron.

you can go cheaper by sourcing stuff separately too. People sell this stuff on Facebook quite a bit. Also call ski shops, you could get lucky with some older iron that they don’t use anymore

word thanks man

RusteezeHow much does it cost to build a maintenance and get this stuff?

pays for itself in a few waxes for sure. I spent under 100 on everything and have saved well over that not paying for shops to do it. Plus, something about waxing your own skis is just better

Rusteezeword thanks man

in addition to what he said, I was able to pick up a “travel iron” at Walmart for like $15 that is the same size as a wax iron and about $50 cheaper, and it doesn’t have all the holes a normal iron does either

Beyond just waxing stuff, get something like a swix pocket stone. It will help you keep any rust off your edges and debur them semi regularly. Hitting lots of rails, obviously they won't be sharp. But you can smooth things out a bit and help them last longer. Swix pocket stone is like $15 at Pinewskis if I remember right.

Waxing will make the biggest difference, and keeping your bases waxed up is definitely good for the ski and for performance.

I'll also add that having a good solid #3 pozidrive or Phillips screwdriver as well as a thick flathead for binding adjustments is key. Long shaft is preferred for clearance in tight bindings. Titebond III wood glue (it's waterproof and rated as one of the best on the market) if you do any paper jig mounting at home. Beyond that, just get stuff as you need it based on what you are comfortable doing at home.

Most people can't truly sharpen at home, although you can buy really high quality sharpening equipment from swix and SVST. Basegrind/structuring is the main thing you almost always have to have a shop do for you.

Iron: You can get a Swix North iron for like $40
Wax: Learn when to use what wax. I use Swix UR8 Red for 99% of east coast skiing but use Swix purple if it's really cold or I'm skiing dry/abrasive snow like in Colorado.
P Tex: Good for filling deep gouges but will not bond to the core or fiberglass. Get some epoxy for that.
File: A good file makes it a lot easier to detune a ski than something like a stone and obviously better than hitting rails with sharp skis.
Stone: Diamond stones are good for deburring edges (removing jagged edges) and re dulling. Rails will actually sharpen your edges a bit which can make them crack. Keep em round.
Plastic Scraper: Obviously removes excess wax. Let your skis sit for 10-20 min so the pores can properlyy absorb and retain wax. Hard waxes I tend to scrape sooner cause they're a pain in the ass to scrape cold.


Optional:
Fibertex: Removes the oxidized layer before waxing
Fiberlene: Basically a fancy lint free wipe to pull any dust out after wiping with fibertex.
Nylon Brush: Makes your bases look real nice after a wax and probably makes them faster or something.
Metal scraper: You probably don't need this. Makes wax removal easy but can fuck up your bases if you don't know what you're doing. They can help for flattening p tex repairs but you can also use a file and razor for that.
Spiked T Nuts: Insanely good at repairing delaminated skis. Drill a hole, smear epoxy in there, push the nut up from the bottom so the spikes dig into the base, screw together, clamp if needed.
Epoxy packets: Cheap, easy to mix, can be kept in a toolbox/tuning bag.

dremel bits are good if you have a sudden edge damage beyond repair and needs out

If you are a regular rail skier then a couple of C clamps, a file, and some good epoxy (highly recommend West System G Flex epoxy). Skiing rails, you will eventually get an edge crack (or worse) and its way better to fill and seal it with epoxy than to let water get in and ruin skis. Hugely extends the longevity of your skis if you do a bit of preventative maintenance

iceddremel bits are good if you have a sudden edge damage beyond repair and needs out

Tognar.com sells bits of ski edge (ski edge screws) and spare base material for reasonable prices. Rather than just removing blown out edge and epoxying it back together it is often beneficial to cut out a peice of base, replace the damaged section of edge with some new straight edge, screw the new edge to the core, dremel off the screw heads, and epoxy a small piece of new base back into the hole. If done correctly, the repair is quite strong and in the cases where I had to do it the repair lasted for years. Tons of threads on here with detailed instructions and pictures.

just make sure to get the pfizzer wax and not some astra zeneca BS untested one.

there seems to be lots of people on NS that are anti-waxxers, but dont buy into it. the best thing you can do to keep you and loved ones (your skis) safe is to get the wax and keep boostin'.

jompcockIron: You can get a Swix North iron for like $40
Wax: Learn when to use what wax. I use Swix UR8 Red for 99% of east coast skiing but use Swix purple if it's really cold or I'm skiing dry/abrasive snow like in Colorado.
P Tex: Good for filling deep gouges but will not bond to the core or fiberglass. Get some epoxy for that.
File: A good file makes it a lot easier to detune a ski than something like a stone and obviously better than hitting rails with sharp skis.
Stone: Diamond stones are good for deburring edges (removing jagged edges) and re dulling. Rails will actually sharpen your edges a bit which can make them crack. Keep em round.
Plastic Scraper: Obviously removes excess wax. Let your skis sit for 10-20 min so the pores can properlyy absorb and retain wax. Hard waxes I tend to scrape sooner cause they're a pain in the ass to scrape cold.


Optional:
Fibertex: Removes the oxidized layer before waxing
Fiberlene: Basically a fancy lint free wipe to pull any dust out after wiping with fibertex.
Nylon Brush: Makes your bases look real nice after a wax and probably makes them faster or something.
Metal scraper: You probably don't need this. Makes wax removal easy but can fuck up your bases if you don't know what you're doing. They can help for flattening p tex repairs but you can also use a file and razor for that.
Spiked T Nuts: Insanely good at repairing delaminated skis. Drill a hole, smear epoxy in there, push the nut up from the bottom so the spikes dig into the base, screw together, clamp if needed.
Epoxy packets: Cheap, easy to mix, can be kept in a toolbox/tuning bag.

I would add a vice to the optional tools as well. super nice to have one when you're scraping the wax off