After ironing on a new coat of glide wax, all the surface wax has to be removed. Scraping is the first step, followed by brushing or hand polishing.
The most common error is not hand brushing enough, and the most common misconception is that roto brushing takes the place of hand brushing. The highest potential for damaging the bases comes from over roto brushing.
If scraping has been done correctly, all the wax above the surface “structure” has been removed. The hand brushing removes the wax out of the structure (rills & stoneground texture). The most effective brushes will have thin but fairly stiff bristles, while being soft enough not to scratch the base. Nylon brushes have bristles which are too thick and do not work very well except on soft paraffin waxes for warm snow. Most brass brushes are too stiff and prickly. These are best used during base prep work and not for removing wax. For hand brushing, the best brush we have found (and sell at Sierra Nordic) has thin but fairly stiff brass bristles with soft ends, surrounded by horsehair. We refer to this as a soft brass brush. This is the best hand brush on the market.
Brush the skis with a series of overlapping tip to tail strokes. Each stroke will brush only about 8-12 inches. Do not brush back and forth. Long strokes are ineffective. Instead, start with the brush off (above) the ski, moving in a tip to tail direction, come in for a “soft landing” on the base, apply considerable pressure to the rear of the brush (nose up), and then feather to a smooth “take off”. Repeat these “touch and go landings”, repeatedly going over the same area while slowly working down the ski from tip to tail. Keep an eye on the portion of the base being brushed, proceeding along the base as the wax is removed and the structure is exposed. Stop and re-scrape if you notice surface wax.
If a roto brush is not available, finish the job by polishing with a soft WHITE polishing pad. These are available at Sierra Nordic and are made of thick Scotchbrite (Fibertex) type material. White Scotchbrite is for polishing and does not contain any silicon carbide grit. NEVER use the green, brown, or other colored Scotchbrite. These contain grit and are designed (and sold) as scouring pads, and will scratch the base. It is okay to go back and forth (lengthwise) along the base when polishing. Again, use a lot of pressure. Really try to buff up the base, which should be nice and shiny when done.
If a roto brush is available, remember to always use LIGHT PRESSURE. Let the tips of the bristles do the work. Do NOT bear down. Do NOT over brush. Twenty seconds is enough time to roto brush. Five times down the length will completely finish the brushing and polishing of the bases. Roto brushing longer than 30 seconds total will just wear out the wax. Roto brushing with too much pressure in one place too long – even just a couple seconds – can melt the base. CAREFUL!
The ski must be held securely in some sort of waxing "profile" or vise that supports the ski under the base. Swix makes an excellent adjustable profile that can be clamped to any bench, plus a very portable "Cap Loc" model that give excellent support. There are many homemade models available; look for a good clamping system.
Connect the roto brush handle to a 120 volt drill with a top speed of 2500 rmp. Cordless drills do not work well because even the higher volt models do not spin faster than 1800 rmp, and this is simply not fast enough to polish the base. What we are looking for is fast speed and light pressure! A good model drill will cost about $50: for example, a Bosch 120v drill, 3/8 keyless chuck, reversible, 0-2500 variable speed. Try Home Depot, etc.
Set the rotation direction so that the brush is rotating tip to tail. Whether this is forward or reverse will depend on which direction the ski is aligned on the bench. If the drill is not reversable, align the ski in the proper direction. If the power is coming from underneith the bench and the cords draps in front, put the drill on the front side. If the power is on the back side, it is best to put the drill on the back side with the roto handle at the front side of the ski. In this manner, the cord will not get in the way.
It is OK to go back and forth with the roto brush since the spin (contact with the base) will always be in a tip to tail direction. Brush at full speed and keep the drigger on and the brush always moving. Do NOT do start and stop motions, nor trigger the drill in a start and stop manner ("gunning the engine" in short bursts).
Start by roto brushing with a stiff horsehair brush. This is contrary to what was first thought, but horsehair does a better job at cleaning the remaining wax from the structure of the base. Do not use a stiff nylon brush. Always hand brush first so that all the horsehair brush is doing is flicking the final minute bits of wax out of the structure.
Using a scalloping action with LIGHT PRESSURE and back and forth overlapping stokes, brush the length of the base with a stiff horsehair brush. Do NOT use much pressure. Go down once only (and briefly) with this brush. A light amount of wax should be flicked out of the base as dust. This is best done in a tip-to-tail direction so that the dust is pushed down the ski and is visible.
Next comes the polishing phase. Using a softer nylon brush (7 mm), come back along the base with overlapping strokes but with the bristle tips just brushing the surface. There should be very light pressure, less than the weight of the brush and drill combo. Next, turn the brush at 45 degrees and go down the base once, then turn the brush 45 degrees the other way and come back up the base. End with a single pass straight down the ski with the brush in the normal perpendicular position. The ski will have been roto-brushed 5 times in about 20 seconds TOTAL. The base should be totally polished, with all structure visible and open (free of wax), and extremely shiny.
The 45 degree passes are very important since thism polishes the sides of the structure.
Over time, the brushes will need to be reversed in direction on the roto handle. Alternate periodically so that the brushes get used (worn) in both directions. The horsehair will stand up to years of use and look almost new. On the other hand, the nylon brush will start to have the bristles flair out from their initial bundles and will look worn. This is good (!) because these worn bristles will do a better job at polishing. At Sierra Nordic, we have used the same brushes for over 4 years and they are still going strong. With a rotobrush kit (double handle and two brushes) now costing about $100 retail, buying a roto brush setup is a very good investment for the avid skier.
Enjoy fast skis. |
