Solution for scraping wax off skis

[Sibhusky]

I'd love one. But that's 32 (at least) brand new scrapers.

 

[dovski]

I'd love one. But that's 32 (at least) brand new scrapers.

I have a hand sharpener and that works ok as long as you clean out the file. You can also further home the edge with fine sandpaper. Not the same as the electric sharpener, but better than nothing for us weekend warriors when it comes to scraping skis

 

[Sibhusky]

I use drywall screen clamped under a 1*4 but it's not as good as a new scraper (just bought one for the first time in 15 years). I assume that the electric thing produces the equivalent of a new scraper every time, but..

And my Toko hand sharpener is only good for scraping wax off.

 

[cantunamunch]

Two suggestions:

1) Half hot-scrape. Get half the wax off while it's still warm enough to cohere into a single curl instead of sharding out away from the scraper edge. Then let the ski cool off super cold before you work the rest.

Most everyone who works with hard waxes does some version of this - my suggestion is to do it with *all* waxes. You can even use the metal method @Jacques and @Tom K. are fond of as a finishing step.

2) Chuck white Fibertex into a 1/2 sheet or 1/4 sheet sander. This works really fast to get the last 10-15% of wax off the top of the structure before rotobrushing - and digging for that last 10-15% is half the work with a hand scraper. And the Fibertex lasts a LOT longer than any wax-soak toweling.

 

[eok]

My method for sharpening plastic scrapers:

https://www.pugski.com/threads/best-wax-scraper-sharpening-technique.12443/page-2#post-286139

The plane works great for me and gives a better edge than I get with the drywall sanding screen method.

 

[dovski]

Eureka! I think I have got it. I have been playing around with several different types of shop towel. Similar to the approach with Fiberlene my theory was if I used a more absorbent disposable towel that was designed to absorb grease without falling apart this might be a more effective approach. I just tried it with these shop towels from Lowes

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SELLARS-Paper-Towel/50324081

I can actually see the structure in my base. From the looks of it all my skis need is a good buff with the roto brush once they have had a chance to cool off. This could be my no scrape solution!
My only concern is that perhaps these towels are too absorbent and are sucking up to much of the hot wax ... anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Noodler]

Eureka! I think I have got it. I have been playing around with several different types of shop towel. Similar to the approach with Fiberlene my theory was if I used a more absorbent disposable towel that was designed to absorb grease without falling apart this might be a more effective approach. I just tried it with these shop towels from Lowes

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SELLARS-Paper-Towel/50324081

I can actually see the structure in my base. From the looks of it all my skis need is a good buff with the roto brush once they have had a chance to cool off. This could be my no scrape solution!
My only concern is that perhaps these towels are too absorbent and are sucking up to much of the hot wax ... anyone have any experience with this?

Bingo. Scott Shop towels are what I've been using. Cheap on Amazon.

 

[dovski]

Bingo. Scott Shop towels are what I've been using. Cheap on Amazon.

Do you still scrape or just buff? Also how is the performance vs. waiting and scraping?

 

[James]

Eureka! I think I have got it. I have been playing around with several different types of shop towel. Similar to the approach with Fiberlene my theory was if I used a more absorbent disposable towel that was designed to absorb grease without falling apart this might be a more effective approach. I just tried it with these shop towels from Lowes

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SELLARS-Paper-Towel/50324081

I can actually see the structure in my base. From the looks of it all my skis need is a good buff with the roto brush once they have had a chance to cool off. This could be my no scrape solution!
My only concern is that perhaps these towels are too absorbent and are sucking up to much of the hot wax ... anyone have any experience with this?

The blue shop towel method has been around for quite sometime. Some seem to block heat and don't work well. That might be ceramic in the mix?
Lots of people just leave it. After the towel and go ski. Otherwise, ideally let the wax set up for it's time, 20min to a few hours or overnight Then do whatever.

 

[Noodler]

The shop towels are a bit thicker than fiberlene, so you might need to bump up the temp on your iron. This method greatly reduces the amount of wax you need to scrape and the amount of mess you need to clean up.

 

[crgildart]

I'm just super cheap and stingy with the wax when applying it. Drops few and far between ironed on to a thin sheen. Not a lot of scraping required. Takes a little longer but doesn't leave as big of a mess of drops under the ski to clean up.

 

[dovski]

Ok so I tried a different approach with the blue towels, I followed the iron with them and essentially wiped the excess wax off immediately after it melted. This approach eliminated the heat transfer issues and removed a lot of wax. Left the skis for a couple hours and just gave them a quick scrape followed by a buff with my nylon roto brush. The end result looks identical to my previous approach which was much more labor intensive. This should cut my waxing time down significantly

 

[Sibhusky]

So, do we call this "hot wiping" as opposed to"hot scraping"?

 

[dovski]

So, do we call this "hot wiping" as opposed to"hot scraping"?

Does this approach impact the wax absorption or performance?

 

[Noodler]

Ok so I tried a different approach with the blue towels, I followed the iron with them and essentially wiped the excess wax off immediately after it melted. This approach eliminated the heat transfer issues and removed a lot of wax. Left the skis for a couple hours and just gave them a quick scrape followed by a buff with my nylon roto brush. The end result looks identical to my previous approach which was much more labor intensive. This should cut my waxing time down significantly

Interesting. I may try the "hot swipe".

 

[neonorchid]

It's been mentioned and I'll say it again. The electric scraper sharpener makes scraping much easier. I'd tried every way possible to sharpen my scrapers before that and thought I was getting them sharp.

A scraper that went 1 pass through those machines takes off wax much easier.

Mantac Electric Wax Scraper Sharpener

High performance alpine ski gear ski tuning equipment snowboard and ski wax winter apparel for skiing and ski racing alpine race gear

www.race-werks.com

I'd love one. But that's 32 (at least) brand new scrapers.

I have a hand sharpener and that works ok as long as you clean out the file. You can also further home the edge with fine sandpaper. Not the same as the electric sharpener, but better than nothing for us weekend warriors when it comes to scraping skis

My method for sharpening plastic scrapers:

https://www.pugski.com/threads/best-wax-scraper-sharpening-technique.12443/page-2#post-286139

The plane works great for me and gives a better edge than I get with the drywall sanding screen method.

?

I run my plastic scraper (a scrap peice of 1/4 or 1/2 plexiglass whatever I have on hand at the time cut to size), thru the router table as needed to get a sharp edge.

 

[Noodler]

?

I run my plastic scraper (a scrap peice of 1/4 or 1/2 plexiglass whatever I have on hand at the time cut to size), thru the router table as needed to get a sharp edge.

So do I. I don't need another fancy gizmo that only does one thing.

 

[dovski]

So do I. I don't need another fancy gizmo that only does one thing.

I don’t think any of this falls into the category of need. My wife and kids have a lot of names they use to describe this obsession of mine, but need is not one of them

 

[Sibhusky]

Buying a router table would cost 20 scrapers. And take up a lot of space. Plus if I owned one I might have to use it.

 

[Marker]

Ok so I tried a different approach with the blue towels, I followed the iron with them and essentially wiped the excess wax off immediately after it melted. This approach eliminated the heat transfer issues and removed a lot of wax. Left the skis for a couple hours and just gave them a quick scrape followed by a buff with my nylon roto brush. The end result looks identical to my previous approach which was much more labor intensive. This should cut my waxing time down significantly

My towels are white and don't seem to impact the heat as long as the wax and skis are warm. After passing the towel down the ski under the iron, I buff the warm surface with a clean part of the towel. After cooling, there is very little wax on the surface, and I brush out with a nylon brush. I can do two normal skis with one towel. Fat skis use more wax.