How do you wax your skis?

Just curious:

How do others wax their skis for touring or backcountry skiing? (Glide waxing; not kick waxing.) What wax(s) do you use? Do you wax before each tour? (Be honest.    ) Are there other things you do or check when you wax?

I've got my own peculiar ways that I may or may not have enough nerve to describe.  But I guess I could mention that my lazy person's wax job includes use of liquid wax, a heat gun, a cork and a wax brush. 

Larry

Swix CH8.

Hot wax with an old clothes iron, usually once every two trips.

Scrape.

Makes a big difference in most snow, and a huge difference in grabby snow.

I wax the bottoms... 

Scrape and strip any old wax with citrus solvent, clean up any edge burrs or base damage, run a wire brush lightly tip-to-tail, then hot wax with either CH8 or Toko Universal.  I usually let it cool on the bases overnight, then scrape it real good and brush it with the soft side of my brush, tip-to-tail.  If I'm feeling super-geeky, i'll store them with a spacer so the bases don't touch each other... Usually once a week, or every 2-3 ski days.

What do you do?  I geek out on this stuff and am really just learning the various ways to tune and maintain... 

Marcus

Since I've never gotten around to ordering a big block of bulk wax, I've been using the yellow Swix all-conditions Snowboard wax from REI. It's a bigger block and like 3 bucks cheaper than the stuff in the ski dept. Works well too. Could go even cheaper ... I once knew a guy back east that swore by canning paraffin from the grocery store

For an iron I have something that I believe was built just after electricity became available in the US. Every once in awhile, it electrocutes me, but otherwise, it gets the job done.  One nice feature is the ability to unplug the cord from the iron, and since it is ~20 pounds of solid iron, it stays hot long enough to wax a ski or two. Good workout, too.

I use Swix LF7, LF8, and LF10 separately or in combination depending on what I think the temps will be . . . this week I used LF8 and LF10 in approximately a 1:1 ratio. Iron on with one of several Value Village irons set on medium heat (middle of the "wool" setting usually works best) Scrape it thin and brush it out (just the nylon brush for wet snow, graduate to a horsehair brush if its colder and finer textured).

I drip the wax on very sparingly to minimize waste (LF is around $20 for the small block), usually wax every 2 to 3 days of skiing, or when the temperature changes dramatically.  I probably use about $40 worth of wax a year.

I touch up the edges before I wax, then prep the base with citrus solvent (Citrusolve or Goo-Gone), ScotchBrite, or 100 grit sandpaper on a sanding block followed by scraping with a sharp metal scraper, depending on the condition/cleanliness of the base. The sanding works as a home version of a base grind for all but the worst base damage; once in a while I will go to the SkiBuilders.com factory and use Kelvin's base grinder.

PS  I use CH (non-fluoro) series waxes on the rest of the family's skis . . .

PPS  I have never had a problem with fluoro waxes damaging my skin glue (BD Ascension) and I've been using them since before the day - the only skin manufacturer I know of who warns against using fluoro waxes is Colltex.

Hotwax using a small travel iron on low setting.  Often use candle wax (don't throw away those candles!), will last at least one trip and it feels good to get a 'free' wax and I can use lots and get sloppy.  The scented candles make the skis smell good. 

If I want two or three trips worth, I use Swix flourinated f4 glide wax.  I always carry the shoe polish bottle of swix glide wax in my ski bag.

I usually don't scrape, but have learned to spread it pretty thin.  I do scrape off the tip and tails, where accumulations tend to set in.

Used the swix purple cold wax - that stuff is bullet proof, doesn't wear off fore and aft, so I am saving that wax for real icey conditions and will definitely have to scrape it.

Most ski wax is hydrocarbon wax (same as paraffin, candle wax) with different hardness settings which I consider to be overpriced.  Don't assume ski wax is flourinated - look for it on the label.