What's your base cleaner of choice

[BLspruce2]

I am not sure if there are negatives but I use plain rubbing alcohol. A ski racing friend said he started using it because he could not travel with cleaner, just waxes and tools and would buy it locally. Its works fine, evaporates quick to dry fast, is super cheap and readily available. I have also used clear alcohol hand cleaner which is loaded with alcohol. As a side note both products work well taking off pine pitch if it lands on your car. Try it if you run low of swix cleaner and see for yourself. It works fine.

 

[Plai]

Jacques is the most fervent believer in Swix Glide Wax cleaner to clean skis without desaturating the bases.
They also make a wax remover and a citrus based version for those philosophically disinclined to dinosaur drippings.
There are also fluoro removers.
Me, I hot scrape for reasonable cleanup.
When you really want to remove built up crud I reach to the mechanics side of my shop and grab the non-chlorinated brake parts cleaner.
At $2.50 a can it is hard to beat.
And NO, it will not damage your HDPE sintered bases but you will need to resaturate them with wax because it takes off everything.

Got URL to your favorite? I'm seeing prices from around $5/14oz to > $12/14oz.

 

[BLspruce2]

Rubbing alcohol is $ 1.99 for 32 oz at Target.... Swix Flouro Glide wax cleaner is $ 34 for 500 ML at Artechski (great shop) which has fair prices .....try it side by side and see which works best for you. I love a cheap kluge that works.

 

[Jacques]

Got URL to your favorite? I'm seeing prices from around $5/14oz to > $12/14oz.

I just get mine at The Race Place because I'm close. I use the 500ml can. Site say it's out now of those.

https://the-raceplace.com/collections/base-cleaner/products/swix-fluoro-hard-wax-cleaner

 

[Dakine]

Got URL to your favorite? I'm seeing prices from around $5/14oz to > $12/14oz.

Just get the non-chlorinated kind of brake cleaner at any big box store or auto parts place.
The paint prep solvent is available at any auto parts store that sells paint and most others.
I got a gallon of the kind pictured above for $12at my local Car Quest place.
If you want to look like you know what you are doing get one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Jscarlife-On...0&sr=8-2&keywords=auto+body+pump+spray+bottle

 

[Wolfski]

Brake Parts Cleaner on bases? I know it cleans the god giving heck off of everything it touches but it leaves any porous surface extremely dry. Not saying it won't work but man that stuff is aggressive.

The paint prep product is??? Mineral Spirits? Denatured Alcohol? Denatured Alcohol cleans very nice with out much residue but Mineral Spirits leaves a film.

If you are hot scraping are you not doing it to clean the base level of the ski and seeing as more wax in the ski is better, why would you use abrasive chemicals on your bases for cleaning plus removing wax only to need more wax to get back to where you started from before you stripped the base?

Isn't the desired result a clean base that has an extremely penetrated wax base? If so, why partially strip out what took you time and money to soak in because the Bullwheel grease, groomer exhaust, tobacco spit, etc. etc. is not going to penetrate those bases that you've so diligently work on

Now if I work in a shop/ when I worked in a shop, time is money so base cleaners are wonderful but if you're doing your own or a pair that cares (a lot) the only cleaner that touches those bases is wax.

Now I do remember cleaners used in wax rooms back in the day but Never on the base but that was a number of years ago.

 

[Dakine]

I use the brake cleaner to strip a ski I am converting from warm to cold or vice versa wax setups.
I also use it at the end of the season for a complete clean before I saturate them with storage wax.
The paint prep solvent is designed specifically to be unaggressive so it won't hurt car paint and it doesn't strip the ski at all, just takes off the surface gunk.
Try an experiment, it is the best way to answer your questions.

 

[nflanagin]

Dakine - I do use Prep All on all my stones. It's a magical cleaner. But, like Jacques, I use the Swix Flouro cleaner on my bases because I use a lot of mb-77 for base prep for beer league racing,

 

[Blue Streak]

I am sorry to hear that, Did you try to turn up the iron a few degrees for the absorption/removal stage?

Moreover, did you forget the scotch?

 

[eok]

I avoid using base cleaners - as in the fluids specifically sold for cleaning ski bases. However...

When I clean bases, I scrape 'em, brush 'em and do a few passes with a low abrasion 3M 'scotch pad (backed by a wood block). Wipe the skis down and then I spray a simple light meadowfoam oil solution (about 1tsp oil to 2oz of 91% denatured alcohol). I use a 2oz spray bottle that puts out a very fine mist. I shake up the bottle to put the oil in fine suspension and then do just a few sprays along the base, which deposits a very light film on the bases. Then I quickly rub out the bases with fiberlene, which almost always picks up a good amount of gunk from the bases. The alcohol evaporates quickly and the fiberlene gets any excess oil. Wend sells a meadowfoam-based cleaner that has some other additives. I'm sure it's superior to what I'm using, but I'm both a cheapskate and an extreme DIY kind of dude.

 

[Jacques]

Dakine - I do use Prep All on all my stones. It's a magical cleaner. But, like Jacques, I use the Swix Flouro cleaner on my bases because I use a lot of mb-77 for base prep for beer league racing,

Even if one never uses fluoro overlays or fluoro-hydrocarbon waxes, the Swix Glide Wax Cleaner is the bomb. Never a dry base.

@nflanagin would you not say the same. Seems folks need to hear more from users of the product as many seem skeptical.

 

[fullStack]

I've been using the Swix glide wax cleaner ever since I saw @Jacques recommended it last year. Been very happy with it, it pulls a lot of crap off the base that isn't really noticeable. Makes the waxing process easier too.
Now I don't cringe so much when we ski through the parking lot and one of my daughters fails to avoid some dirty snow, chew spit, or worse.

 

[Jacques]

I've been using the Swix glide wax cleaner ever since I saw @Jacques recommended it last year. Been very happy with it, it pulls a lot of crap off the base that isn't really noticeable. Makes the waxing process easier too.
Now I don't cringe so much when we ski through the parking lot and one of my daughters fails to avoid some dirty snow, chew spit, or worse.

Yes, there is stuff in the snow! Even when it looks pretty clean. A clean base is a fast base. Waxing over junk on the surface of the ski is never a good idea.
Much of that junk will clog up a base and or prevent good adhesion of the waxes.

 

[Jacques]

When you really want them clean so you can start over without a grind....
Be careful, it may etch the sidewalls, degrease the bindings and knock you to lala land.
But if you want to take wax and grease off a surface, it gets results.

View attachment 58145

On the other hand, if you just want to take off hydrocarbons, silicones and fluros without too much penetration ..

View attachment 58146
As used in Joe's Garage ever since ski boots had laces...

View attachment 58147

Paying $100/gallon for solvents that cost $10/gal just isn't my thing.
But, what would I know, I'm only a PhD Chemical Engineer with 30 years making chemicals...

Wow, I did not know you were a chemical guy PhD.
I'm still going to stick with the more costly stuff made for skis. After all it's not like I use so much it's going to break the small bank I have.
500ml bottle of Swix Glide Wax Cleaner last me for many many skis, and I use it liberally. I lay it on thick!
I usually go through 500ml bottle per season and that's for my 17 pairs and a bunch of other peoples as well.

For everyone else looking here, here is another take on how to use the stuff in a post grinding cleaning video.

 

[pause]

I love the range of techniques out there. I've been waxing my own skis for over 25 years and almost always use plain old Windex. Probably not up to snuff for serious racers, but for the other 99% of us, seems to be just fine.

 

[Atomicman]

I hot scrape with Dominator Base Renew. Purple for Clear Bases, Renew Graphite, Black bases

 

[Plai]

Stupid newbie question. How do you know if the base is clean? For what do you check, test? What is clean for a recreational skier vs race skier?

 

[Jacques]

Stupid newbie question. How do you know if the base is clean? For what do you check, test? What is clean for a recreational skier vs race skier?

You don't always know the base is "dirty greasy". Sometimes you can see stuff, sometimes you can't. Either way it's no good to wax prior to cleaning.
Some stuff just won't come clean by brass brushing. The stuff you can't see is stuff you should clean off before you wax.
Hot scraping a greasy ski will only mix grease with the wax. That will change the waxes properties and prevent good adhesive qualities of the wax.
There is no test I know of.
Clean is clean no mater what level of skiing.
Get some Swix Glide Wax Cleaner and use it. You will see all the junk in a white lint free wiper such as Fiberlene etc.

 

[Sibhusky]

I just hot scrape until the warm wax I'm scraping off is clean. Fortunately, I must live in a clean snow area. It rarely takes more than three sets of wax and scrapes to get to that. Before I do that I've usually, just as a part of the tuning, hit the base repeatedly with a steel brush. I know my skis used to get filthy when I lived in the East, but they just don't here. We're usually closing the mountain with fresh snow on the trails. Occasionally there's deer poop on the trails and I don't see it in time, but I rarely have these issues with tree sap or ?grease. I'm just not in the base cleaner camp.

Whatever the stuff I have is, it smells great and cleans the wax off my diamond stones just great at the end of the season. I use it rarely on my skis, tho.

 

[Jacques]

I just hot scrape until the warm wax I'm scraping off is clean. Fortunately, I must live in a clean snow area. It rarely takes more than three sets of wax and scrapes to get to that. Before I do that I've usually, just as a part of the tuning, hit the base repeatedly with a steel brush. I know my skis used to get filthy when I lived in the East, but they just don't here. We're usually closing the mountain with fresh snow on the trails. Occasionally there's deer poop on the trails and I don't see it in time, but I rarely have these issues with tree sap or ?grease. I'm just not in the base cleaner camp.

Whatever the stuff I have is, it smells great and cleans the wax off my diamond stones just great at the end of the season. I use it rarely on my skis, tho.

So you don't use any graphite waxes?
I found when hot scraping a ski that had graphite wax that the hot scrape would always look dark because of the graphite.
Hard to discern black from graphite or other stuff. Maybe even a bit of black base material.
You should try the Glide Wax Cleaner.
You have nothing to loose to try it. Just a few bucks anyway.
I think if you try it, you will be pleased, and stop all that hot scraping.