What would happen if you applied a thin layer of wax and skied without scraping it?

[speedster]

So I've obviously never done this, but what would happen if you waxed the bases, let them cool overnight, and skied without scraping the wax off?

 

[dbostedo]

They might feel funny at first, and the snow would scrape the wax off after the first few runs.

 

[slowrider]

Squirrelly-base high then like db said they'll be fine.

 

[James]

Unless it's swix 4 or equivalent. Then it would be a problem because it's so hard.
Allegedly- and this is from the wax co, Dominator I think, not scraping and skiing tears the wax out more than scraping so you lose a little more. How great the loss is,? But that's also why people use the fiberlene/blue paper towel method.

As the ancients said..."Tis better to have waxed and not scraped then not to have waxed at all."

 

[CalG]

Squirrelly-base high then like db said they'll be fine.

This is true, I've done it too many times ;-) Feels like no edge at all on hard pack. Then the next run is fast and fine.

If only the seasons would start with two feet of "red wax compatible" snow. Somehow I forget to scrape last springs storage wax ;-)

 

[François Pugh]

I've done it a few times. I didn't notice any squirrely base problems, but my skis are usually tipped on edge on hard snow. I did notice the skis were slow for the first few runs (small hill=more runs needed to remove extra wax) though.

 

[Jim Kenney]

in 50 years of skiing i've done every dumb thing possible. i put candle wax on skis once, didn't scrape. when i went skiing and got off first chair lift i fell to the ground because skis wouldn't glide. i skated and walked and slide and it scraped off enough to ski in about 100 feet.

 

[Talisman]

i put candle wax on skis once, didn't scrape.

This approach worked great on the runners of my Flexible Flyer sled, so tried it on skis too. In my case the trip up the T bar "scraped" off enough of the candle wax to restore glide.

 

[slowrider]

But it smells good. Bayberry was the choice of this ground breaking method.

 

[DanoT]

Not scrapping is the dirt bag lazy ski bum method, so naturally I have done it many times. Very sticky non glidy for the first 100 feet or so then ok.

If you examine the ski bases after a run or two, and if there are visible signs of wax on the front of the ski and none on the tail, then you have proof that you have been sitting back. With this in mind, you can see that the non-scrapping method does not work all that well on rockered skis.

 

[Jacques]

Anyone that does this and it just rubs off after a while, I would say is not getting good wax adhesion.
This might be from waxing a dirty base, or using waxes that have poor adhesion properties.
In this case your wax job was never any good anyway.

 

[Posaune]

Anyone that does this and it just rubs off after a while, I would say is not getting good wax adhesion.
This might be from waxing a dirty base, or using waxes that have poor adhesion properties.
In this case your wax job was never any good anyway.

I doubt this. I have not scraped a few times and it's not the adhesion that gives up, it's just that the snow crystals are pretty abrasive and they tear off all of the lumps and bumps until you have a good, smooth surface. After the first run or so everything works fine, just like I had used my scraper and given it a once over with a Scotch Brite pad. Certainly it's not a race job, but it works for most everything else.

Scraping takes almost no time, however, so why not do it?

 

[speedster]

I doubt this. I have not scraped a few times and it's not the adhesion that gives up, it's just that the snow crystals are pretty abrasive and they tear off all of the lumps and bumps until you have a good, smooth surface. After the first run or so everything works fine, just like I had used my scraper and given it a once over with a Scotch Brite pad. Certainly it's not a race job, but it works for most everything else.

Scraping takes almost no time, however, so why not do it?

It takes time, physical effort, and is so messy! Putting the wax on takes a couple of minutes for me, taking it off takes five or more. I was just looking for excuses to be lazy, and this thread has given me that!

 

[François Pugh]

Don't forget to brush!

 

[cantunamunch]

I doubt this.

Then do the experiment. Take a stick of wax and melt-fix it so it stands upright on the ski. Like a candle in a Italian-nostalgia restaurant. Wait for it to cool off. Then tear it off the ski.

I think you will find that any wax harder than ~CH8 or softer beeswax tears most of the melty bits off and leaves nothing on the ski.

The cohesion of harder waxes is simply greater than their adhesion to the base. The adhesion fails. Which is exactly what @Jacques was talking about - and you're left with a ski that has very little if any wax on it at all. That is why we scrape - to give the snow no lever arm to tear cohesive waxes out of the ski.

(BTW, ever since the work of the nice electrochemists at Xerox, we now know that particulate dielectric tearout is also an electrostatic charging mechanism)

 

[neonorchid]

Don't forget to brush!

Brass brush after scraping to get into the structure followed by Synthetic brush to polish. Then a pass or two with a cork, redundant, right?
I feel like I forgot something. Ah, Fiberlene ... wait didn't we cover that with the synthetic brush/cork or are we using it between the waxing iron and the hot dripped wax when ironing out the dripped wax on the ski? Some professional looking instructional video's only used Fiberlene for the last step of the process to polish the wax
Can we describe any more ways of doing this to further confuse and sell more product - Hot Box anyone?
Oh heck, just buy the DPS momo-jumbo and don't worry about scraping your thin layer of wax and the rest of the OCD ritual!

 

[PTskier]

No problem. It'll be sticky for the first few feet, then glide fine. Many times I've just waxed, re-melted the wax and wiped the excess off with a paper towel, then sent skiing. It was sticky through the first lift line and maybe a couple of feet on the first run. Fine glide after that. No problem at the lift get-off. The wax remained good for the same number of days as the job with scraping & brushing. I use only a universal wax, anyway. Hertel Super Hot Sauce universal wax meets my needs.

 

[slowrider]

A wax job shows what kind of skier you are. Take a look at the basrs after a few runs. Still have wax in the center? You passed.

 

[dbostedo]

^^^^
Only if you're constantly turning, right?

 

[slowrider]

^^^^
Only if you're constantly turning, right?

There's another way? ;-)