Tune Your Waxing Irons!

[James]

CH 2 comes in powder form, thank goodness. I use it near the edges. I'll have to look to see if CH4 comes in it as well. Beyond the problem of working with it, I love how it works. But we are now in a warmer weather cycle.

Edit. Apparently CH3 is in powder. May switch to that when my 2 runs out. Haven't found 4 in powder yet. The powder doesn't go snapping off onto the floor when you try to flatten the drops. With 4 I'm lifting up the iron to move to the next section until it's all flat. I've tried crayoning with not much success. Maybe I need a cheese grater to make my own powder.

I used to grate 4 with a panzar file. Kind of a waste of time. Just drip it on. Then, melt with iron , yes lift iron off over the hardened drips or they fly off. Put iron back down and melt the next ones. Once they're all spread in a film I'll do tip to tail or vice versa passes.

When you're ready to scrape, use a hot iron. Can prob be less than 150C, (temp for applying CH4). With the iron, warm and smooth like a 12-18 inch section. Then scrape. After it's all scraped you can brush.

That method is so much easier. I don't dread CH4 anymore. Grinding 4 to powder took forever. Scraping without heating doesn'tvwork well.

CH4 is awesome though. Totally loved it in our artic temps. I think if they (temps) continued I'd add cold temp graphite.

Fyi, Swix now has a CHX5. Supposed to be easier to work with than 4 with nearly the same cold ability. Apparently, CH waxes are now CHX.

 

[cantunamunch]

CH4 is awesome though. Totally loved it in our artic temps. I think if they (temps) continued I'd add cold temp graphite.

When Swix closed out LFG4 I bought more than a kilo. Still have a few boxes.

Fyi, Swix now has a CHX5. Supposed to be easier to work with than 4 with nearly the same cold ability. Apparently, CH waxes are now CHX.

CH5 is nice, came out as a manmade-snow wax a couple of seasons back.

 

[Sibhusky]

Yes, I always do warm scrape, cool, rewarm, scrape some more.

I don't like graphite. Can't tell if you've got dirty bases or it's the graphite. Got this Dominator Renew for Christmas, they bought the graphite one for me (was not what was on my Wish List). Smells like a car repair place and you've got all this black gunk in the scrapings. Plus there is a haze on my skis that I think is related to the graphite, as I know I've seen this phenomenon before in something. It would never show up in a picture or I'd take one. I couldn't figure out what the issue was until the similarity to something I used years ago hit me.

I used to grate 4 with a panzar file. Kind of a waste of time. Just drip it on. Then, melt with iron , yes lift iron off over the hardened drips or they fly off. Put iron back down and melt the next ones. Once they're all spread in a film I'll do tip to tail or vice versa passes.

When you're ready to scrape, use a hot iron. Can prob be less than 150C, (temp for applying CH4). With the iron, warm and smooth like a 12-18 inch section. Then scrape. After it's all scraped you can brush.

That method is so much easier. I don't dread CH4 anymore. Grinding 4 to powder took forever. Scraping without heating doesn'tvwork well.

CH4 is awesome though. Totally loved it in our artic temps. I think if they (temps) continued I'd add cold temp graphite.

Fyi, Swix now has a CHX5. Supposed to be easier to work with than 4 with nearly the same cold ability. Apparently, CH waxes are now CHX.

Looked at the 5. Not cold enough. I'm using the Racewax green for that range. Thanks for the heads up on the new naming thing.

Whoa, looks like 2 is discontinued? Maybe I should stop using it (might be worth something) and get the 3 now.

 

[cantunamunch]

Got this Dominator Renew for Christmas, they bought the graphite one for me (was not what was on my Wish List). Smells like a car repair place and you've got all this black gunk in the scrapings. Plus there is a haze on my skis that I think is related to the graphite,

Something is not right. I have used a LOT of Dominator base renew (graphite) and I get neither the smell nor the haze.

 

[Sibhusky]

The haze could be (?) some other issue. The smell is the smell. Reminds me of WD-40 or 3-in-1.

 

[cantunamunch]

?I'll send you a sample of mine - it smells nothing like that.

 

[James]

Are your bases not black?

High flouro graphite is great stuff but mucho $.
I've never had a smell issue with any graphite. I used to use Dominator zoom graphite as an all temp wax. I've used Race service 1 graphite and Swix. Never a smell.
Yeah, graphite stains non black bases bases and scrapes dirty looking. But, I'm ok with it.

If you're having a smell issue I'd call Dominator. He used to post on epic. Quite responsive.

 

[L&AirC]

The haze could be (?) some other issue. The smell is the smell. Reminds me of WD-40 or 3-in-1.

I've never noticed any Dominator wax to smell like anything other than ski wax. Maybe you got a bad batch??

 

[Sibhusky]

Let's wait until after I use the skis. They are my pow skis, so need to wait on that. After all, is the smell important or the performance?

Yes, I have black bases, but don't like wondering if I've got dirt, I'm taking off the structure or what.

?I'll send you a sample of mine - it smells nothing like that.

 

[cantunamunch]

Yeah, graphite stains non black bases bases and scrapes dirty looking. But, I'm ok with it.

The Dominator scrapings go into the bike chain hot pot - and all the chains still look stainless.

After all, is the smell important or the performance?

Not at all, only in a diagnostic sense.

I am seriously wondering now if you got a bad batch somehow* or if they've changed the composition.

*brings up a good point - how do we know we're using real Black Wolf / Helx / Jetstream and not just some cheapo chinese imitation?

 

[James]

The Dominator scrapings go into the bike chain hot pot - and all the chains still look stainless.

What's that? You melt wax and run the chains through?

 

[cantunamunch]

What's that? You melt wax and run the chains through?

It requires chains with a master link. And a hot pot. A small (tiny) pasta strainer lives in the hot pot permanently. Just drop the chain in the pasta strainer, and pick it out (chopsticks work) when it's hot enough that ~all of the wax just flows off of it. As soon as it's cool it's ready to use.

There's (easily) 6lbs+ of ex-ski wax in there now. Dirt and stuff settles out below the pasta strainer. No fuss, no muss. Penetrates into places no drip lube would ever reach, unless one filled an ultrasonic bath with it.

 

[Jacques]

Yes, I always do warm scrape, cool, rewarm, scrape some more.

I don't like graphite. Can't tell if you've got dirty bases or it's the graphite. Got this Dominator Renew for Christmas, they bought the graphite one for me (was not what was on my Wish List). Smells like a car repair place and you've got all this black gunk in the scrapings. Plus there is a haze on my skis that I think is related to the graphite, as I know I've seen this phenomenon before in something. It would never show up in a picture or I'd take one. I couldn't figure out what the issue was until the similarity to something I used years ago hit me.


Looked at the 5. Not cold enough. I'm using the Racewax green for that range. Thanks for the heads up on the new naming thing.

Whoa, looks like 2 is discontinued? Maybe I should stop using it (might be worth something) and get the 3 now.

Wow. This iron tuning has drifted.
The graphite in Dominator is quite effective for dry and fresh snows. You should be able to see it even on a black base.
Get going about 50 MPH. for about 1 to 2 minutes then stop. It can be smelled if you have a good nose.
You may notice it more with Graphite Zoom, or by using the new snow anit-statics in the mix.
Graphite is an excellent solid lubricant and really helps prevent base burn.
For glide on the flats and after the skis have gone some distance an anit-static is mandatory part of any wax mix.
When the snow gets old and wet, then I move to the Fluoro-Graphite Poylemer as found in the SRB's or Race Zoom Old Snow.
"Regular" graphite is not hydrophobic, so not the best in old and wetter snows.

Be good all and try to keep this about irons as best as possible within reason.

 

[James]

It requires chains with a master link. And a hot pot. A small (tiny) pasta strainer lives in the hot pot permanently. Just drop the chain in the pasta strainer, and pick it out (chopsticks work) when it's hot enough that ~all of the wax just flows off of it. As soon as it's cool it's ready to use.

There's (easily) 6lbs+ of ex-ski wax in there now. Dirt and stuff settles out below the pasta strainer. No fuss, no muss. Penetrates into places no drip lube would ever reach, unless one filled an ultrasonic bath with it.

Ever try with chainsaw chains? I suppose you'd have to open a link.

 

[Wolfski]

Who has gotten a burr on their wax pot that needs a lapping? from skis that need a grind and your'e waxing them why? If a ski is that fried why are you waxing it?
The bases are everything in skiing at least for non TG events. The shape of you wax pot means next to nothing, what matters is how you use it and how much waste is there dripping off the planks. Temp, check Wax mixuture, check burrs on my pot???? really??? Why?

 

[Read Blinn]

Just drip it on. Then, melt with iron , yes lift iron off over the hardened drips or they fly off. Put iron back down and melt the next ones. Once they're all spread in a film I'll do tip to tail or vice versa passes.

When you're ready to scrape, use a hot iron. Can prob be less than 150C, (temp for applying CH4). With the iron, warm and smooth like a 12-18 inch section. Then scrape. After it's all scraped you can brush.

I tried Phil's method last night: melt the wax on the iron itself, then iron the base — no dripping; the wax-coated base plate transfers the wax to the base. Eliminates those disturbing bulletproof drips. You have to be careful not to slide off the wax layer onto the bare base, but that's not hard to accomplish.

 

[Jacques]

Who has gotten a burr on their wax pot that needs a lapping? from skis that need a grind and your'e waxing them why? If a ski is that fried why are you waxing it?
The bases are everything in skiing at least for non TG events. The shape of you wax pot means next to nothing, what matters is how you use it and how much waste is there dripping off the planks. Temp, check Wax mixuture, check burrs on my pot???? really??? Why?

Not like this ski got destroyed, but having burrs on your pot will or can do this type of thing.
Further more it may heat just the edges or center only of the sole depending on the flatness of the ski and or pot combination.

 

[Sibhusky]

Wax pot?

 

[Jacques]

Wax pot?

I'm thinking like trunk=boot and bonnet=hood.

 

[James]

So pot = base?
What's the big deal to take a burr off the base? Maybe it fell on the floor, maybe junior shot it with the bb gun. Maybe the person just likes a nice flat base.