Idea for pollen on skis

This is just an untested idea for pollen clogging skis, but I have heard so much lately about the problem that I thought that I would offer it.  I would hope to test it myself if I could get out anytime soon.

First, I would suggest that minimal or no "wax" would be best.  My guess is that any wax is soft enough for pollen to adhere and embed in the wax surface.  I would probably use a liquid wipe on wax, let it dry and then brush it out as much as possible with a brass or steel brush.  These waxes tend to be fluoro waxes or combo waxes, which reportedly can ruin skin adhesives.  However, I find that if I brush the wax well after application, there is no effect on the skin glue. (In any casse the fluoro waxes are optimal for wet snow like we have right now.)  The goal here is to minimize pollen retention.

Second, I would carry the brush and maybe a scraper (the scraper mostly for stuff like tree sap).  If your ski bases are textured, then the scraper will do little to help, but the brush ought to dig out most of the pollen and return the bases to a nice sheen. 

There was one suggestion that applying a thick layer of wax would allow for the removal of pollen upon scraping away a layer of wax.  Seems reasonable, but my guess is that there is diminishing returns using that approach.  Also the first thick layer may not ski quite so well and it might actually promote the pollen buildup.

This is just an educated guess on my part.  If I do get out, I will try to apply the approach and follow up.  Don't hold your breath.

Alan

Pollen, dirt, etc. will adhere more to a ski base that is either already dirty or has wax residue on it. 
I use a colder wax than what the snow or air temp seems like it would require.
Here are the steps I use:
1) I clean the ski by hot scrapping or using wax remover.  Wax remover is great but dries out the ski bases and can leave a residue so make sure to wipe well and allow excess to evaporate all off before waxing.
2) Brush out the ski from tip to tail with a cooper brush (or a soft bronze brush) to make sure the ski is clean.
3) Apply wax on ski and make around three passes to make sure the wax is melted throughly.
4) Let the ski cool for around 30 minutes - this Maximizes the wax absorption into the base.
5) Using a sharp flat scrapper, scrap along the ski trying not to apply downward pressure.  Downward pressure may cause you to remove P-Tex material from the base. 
6) Don't worry about not removing all the wax by scrapping as using a stiff nylon or copper brush will remove the rest.  This may take a bit more elbow grease but results are worthwhile.
Remember: your skiing on the wax IN the base!  Wax left on the ski base will only cause gunk to build up and your skins glue to get all mucked up.

A note on best waxes:  Fluorocarbon waxes are best in moist, dirty spring conditions but are more $$.
I often carry some wax remover & scrapper with me for longer b/c ski trips.

I can elaborate more on this and other waxing questions, so don't hesitate to email me!

Teresa

Good to know your thoughts on a colder wax, that idea just popped into my head yesterday and I was going to test it tomorrow.

I'd been using #10 Swix the last few weeks and getting horrible pollen build-up everywhere from Alpental to Baker, TOKO grip-n-glide was fairing no better, though I wasn't using a copper brush after applying it.

As far as cleaning the pollen off a friend told me he uses coleman fuel and I've been having great success with this, though I'm curious if it's causing harm to the base (Karhu XCD patern bases), though I've not witnessed anything indicating that yet.

TOKOGIRL...what are the steps you use for a hot scrape?

Cheers.

I heard a rumer that Rainex prevents pollen buildup , has anyone tried this?

Half of the buds in my group have zero wax on their skis, yet they have consistently suffered from pollen build-up as much as or more than those of us with wax.  In other words, pollen sticks to P-tex just as bad as it sticks to wax.  Worse yet, pollen sticks to pollen.

I've experimented with thin and thick wax coats, cold and warm.  Pollen sticks to all of it.

Yeah, I've tried RainX and solvents (including white gas), which work for awhile (few hundred feet of verts on big pollen days, in my experience) but then the skins won't stick to the skis.  The RainX fouled my skin glue.

Although my experience with it is limited to two days, I'll continue to try the Hertel Spring Solution wax with a thicker coat and scraping after each run.  It's the best thing I've tried so far.

Edited to add:  Tokogirl, the routine you describe will work, no doubt, but it's not practical in the field between skin laps.  I also agree that wax should in in the ski, not on the ski, and thus I always scrape and brush, but I am making an exception with the Spring Solution.  I should have mentioned that in my post about SS. The notion is that, by the end of the day, the SS wax will be scraped and brushed off a la a standard hot wax.

Big Steve,
Did you make sure ALL the wax was off the skis after waxing?

After a day skiing there are lots of solvents that work but the harsher the chemicals the more your base will dry out and give you problems the next time out.