At home waxers: Do You Use Lint-free Paper on the Last Pass?

[JollyJake99]

Swix is selling a "lint-free paper towel" that they want you to put between the wax iron & the ski base on the last pass that you make when you are hot waxing. They claim that it makes hot waxing easier. Is there anyone out there that is doing this? If so, what's your opinion re: the claimed ease & the performance of the wax job?

Thanks!

Edited December 17, 2009 by JollyJake99

[DiMe]

Swix is selling a "lint-free paper towel" that they want you to put between the wax iron & the ski base on the last pass that you make when you are hot waxing. They claim that it makes hot waxing easier. Is there anyone out there that is doing this? If so, what's your opinion re: the claimed ease & the performance of the wax job?

Thanks!

 

Im no pro, I just started hot waxing my boards myself last season. All I do is drip in a zigzag down the length of the board iron it slowly nice and evenly. Then I scrape all the wax I can off after letting it sit for about 30 min and run a real fine brilo pad type sponge over it a few times to smooth things out and it's been working great for me. Never heard about the "lint free paper tower" thing, I doubt most ski shops even bother with that.

Edited December 17, 2009 by DiMeThIcOnE

[Dan-]

I've never heard of that and really see no point. Drip wax, iron in, let cool, scrape, done.

[zaldon]

I have never heard of using lint free paper for waxing. just DIS (Drip Iron and Scrape)

[Justo8484]

do you mean fiberlene? i don't know if lint free paper towel is really the right term. basically it's useful if you use their method start to finish. instead of dripping wax onto your base, crayon it on. you get a more even distribution quicker without having to push it around with the iron, and you waste much less wax. once it's crayoned on, then you put the fiberlene between your ski/board and the iron, and iron tip to tail. it'll melt the wax, prevent the hot iron from coming into contact with your edges, and basically scrapes for you, and since you crayoned the wax on, there's not enough wax on there to completely saturate the fiberlene, so you've got pretty much no cleanup at all. works really well if you've got their whole setup with the precut fiberlene and their iron with the fiberlene clip on the front, but it's pricey. i usually crayon on, but use a ghetto walmart iron that's probably terrible for my bases and scrape + vacuum my mess when i'm done.

[Erin808]

How much do you guys actually wax your boards? For me it totally depends on how much I ride. If I ride more, I have less time in between and wax less.

 

Anyway I would be interested in something that creates less mess. What's expensive Justo? And is it single use or reusable?

[sibhusky]

Siblet uses the Fiberlene because it helps remove the excess wax. She has the clip on her iron to hold it. I don't however and don't want to burn my fingers, so I end up scraping more. I guess it's worth the money if you've got the money. I use the crayoning method on hard wax because there is where I really really hate the scraping, but on softer wax I don't worry about it as much. I have so much wax I got from a special Dr. D was running at one point that reduced use of wax isn't as big an issue to me as thoroughly protecting my bases from the hot iron.

[Johnny Style]

Justo pretty much nailed it.

 

I purchased a roll two years ago and I barely use it. I like to make it a final pass after my brushing progression. I also use it for those expensive race waxes but I barely use them anyway.

 

[Dan-]

How much do you guys actually wax your boards? For me it totally depends on how much I ride. If I ride more, I have less time in between and wax less.

 

Anyway I would be interested in something that creates less mess. What's expensive Justo? And is it single use or reusable?

 

 

I normally wax after 2-3 days of riding. Sometimes more if i have free time.

[RootDKJ]

I've never heard of that and really see no point. Drip wax, iron in, let cool, scrape, brush, done.

fify

[AngryHugo]

How much do you guys actually wax your boards? For me it totally depends on how much I ride. If I ride more, I have less time in between and wax less.

 

 

usually once a week, but it depends on how much man-made snow I'm on. Natural snow tends to be a little easier on the ol' wax situation.

[DiMe]

How much do you guys actually wax your boards? For me it totally depends on how much I ride. If I ride more, I have less time in between and wax less.

 

Anyway I would be interested in something that creates less mess. What's expensive Justo? And is it single use or reusable?

I wax about every 3 or 4 times out on the board so basicly once a week and mor often if I feel I need it. It's hard to avoid the mess, maybe do it outside or lay newspaper don inside to catch your scrapeings

[trtaylor]

Swix is selling a "lint-free paper towel" that they want you to put between the wax iron & the ski base on the last pass that you make when you are hot waxing. They claim that it makes hot waxing easier. Is there anyone out there that is doing this? If so, what's your opinion re: the claimed ease & the performance of the wax job?

Thanks!

Sibhusky has it right. Using the Fiberlene paper makes scraping easier. That's not a big deal until you start using the harder waxes, like Toko Blue. But, don't need them much here. The only other thing it does is protect your bases from direct contact with a hot iron. But,crayoning does, as well. I always crayon a layer on first, even if I follow up with dripping some wax on. Sometimes I use the Fiberlene, sometimes I don't.

[RomeAgent]

A lot of Japanees riders use wax paper for the same thing. Crayon on, place wax paper over iron and rub down. I dont know why, but thats just how they do it. I am going to try the wax paper method and see if its any different....

[Erin808]

I wax about every 3 or 4 times out on the board so basicly once a week and mor often if I feel I need it. It's hard to avoid the mess, maybe do it outside or lay newspaper don inside to catch your scrapeings

 

We have a garage now which is great but somehow before that my husband always managed to get wax EVERYWHERE. It's just when we're at our friends cabins and stuff that I dont want to get shavings all over the place. I want to get invited back!

 

I always feel like I should wax my board more and am looking to invest a better setup this year. Might try wax paper or this fiberlene stuff.

[method9455]

I do drip more than crayon. I'm too impatient and I have big 12" long 2" diameter cylinders of wax I got free back when I worked in a shop, its like wax for life. Maybe when I have to pay for it I'll be more stingy but for now I think its better to get lots in.

 

I wax at the start and end of every season, and then every 5 or 6 days on the snow. I would recommend a stone grind or at least a belt grind from a shop at the start of the year. A belt grind is $5 and tell them not to wax, pick it up the day they do it and hand wax yourself. It gets all the oxidation off the bottom of your board to start the year.

 

After I scrape I use a cork block with a felt pad. To be honest I don't think it does a damn thing. It is quick and gets rid of finger prints though so I do it anyway.

 

Also I think a good point (Justo I think made) is the iron on edge scratching. I absolutely hate that, it is like nails on a chalk board for me so make sure there is enough wax near hte edge that it floats well, another reason I don't like the crayon method. I usually drip a bead a half inch in from each edge and then just splatter a bit in the middle, the 2-3" from the edge in are all that matter on a board anyway.

[C1erArt]

I find the fiberlene extremely useful for the harder waxes, such as swix blue, green or white for very cold temperatures.

 

If you drip it on, iron it in, let it cool then scrape it (which is what I do for red and purple wax), I find the colder waxes tend to chip when scraping. After I drip the wax on and iron it in, I pull off about a 3 foot length of fiberlene (I usually cut the roll in half so the strip is only 4" wide). This is a little hard to describe, and takes a little practice, but it works great.

 

I start at the tip of the ski (the tip is on my right). I hold the end of the fiberlene in my left hand and the iron in my right. I have the fiberlene covering the first 6" of the tip of the ski and the rest is draped over the tip, down to the floor.

 

I place the iron on the fiberlene which is sandwiched between the iron and the ski. the iron melts the excess wax, and the fiberlene absorbs it.

 

I slowly move down the ski pulling the fiberlene out from under the iron exposing 'fresh' fiberlene to absorb the was as I travel down the ski. So by the time I reach the tail of the ski my left had is stretched out away from the iron, and all the fiberlene has been pulled under the iron and has wax absorbed on it. As you pull the fiberlene out from the left side of the iron, you can see how much wax it is absorbing, and speed up or slow down your pulling the paper from under the wax to suit. For uncoordinated people like myself, doing independent motions with my left and right hand took some practice.

 

The trick is not to use too much excess wax. Also a lot less messy than scraping. You could also do it on warmer waxes, but if you have flat skis, and don't use too much excess wax scraping is a lot quicker.

 

Use the cutout on the scraper to get the wax off the edges, a quick brush with a brass or horsehair brush and you are all set. No scraping needed.

 

I usually wax every second day - I find fileing and diamond stoning the edges to be more valuable than waxing when skiing the northeast.

[ectobar]

To combat the mess, I've been scraping with my board in my board bag. I just scrape all the excess to the bottom and when done take the bag for a walk outside. Works pretty good.

[JollyJake99]

Thanx for all of the reponses re: Fiberlene & waxing. (Sorry, I'd forgotten what Swix had named the stuff!) I've used it several times now and tho' I haven't used any real cold wax yet, it does make the scaping go easier & there are A Lot Less wax scrapings to clean up afterwards !!