The Home Improvement Center Wax Tech
If you have been to a Fast Wax wax demo I often talk about the odds and ends that make ski waxing easier. In one trip a wax tech can deck out their wax box with a few items. Here are my suggestions on what to pick up at your local home improvement store.
Putty Knife: Can make removing kick wax a little easier, also a good one can be used as a true bar to see how flat your ski is.
Box of rags: Get the cloth kind. I use these constantly to wipe debris from the ski base. Rub on wax remover or to clean the ski. With a couple rags in the pocket of your waxing iron you will find a million uses for them.
Paint Thinner: Paint thinner is a good way to clean brushes. Place a 1/4" of thinner in a bowl or plate, then place your brushes, brush side down into the solution. Let them sit for a couple minutes and then rinse with water.
Painters Tape: Another thing you will find a million uses for. Tape off your kick zone, place tape on your bindings so you do not get wax on them. Write on the tape to remind your self on how you prepped your skis, date, type of wax, any other notes that you want to remember.
Razor Blades: Having a few razor blades in your tool box is an easy way to trim off any dings along the side edge of the ski. Some racers will drag a razor blade down their ski at a right angle to the base to shave off base hairs.
Sand Paper: For classic skiers having a few sheets of 120 & 220 grit sand paper will help prep your kick zone with kick wax. For racers if you can find 4000 or 6000 grit sand paper this will help you polish your ski base after a razor blade pass.
Mill File: If you do not have the budget for a Fast Wax Eversharp scraper sharpener, a simple 8" -12" mill file will help you keep your scraper sharp. Place the file on a flat surface and run your scraper down it a couple times to establish a new edge.
Wax Box: Most home improvement stores have an array of different types of tool boxes that can easily double as a wax box. I am partial to the hard sided, stack-able types of tool boxes. Soft sided boxes are a good choice as well, little more affordable, but harder to put a Fast Wax sticker on. : )
Eye Protection: Wearing eye protection is a great habit to get into. Just think of all the debris created with brushing, scraping, and ironing. A simple way to make your insurance agent happy.
Respirator Mask: This is recommended for application of melt on base waxes or if you are doing a race that still allows fluorocarbon waxes.
Wax Iron: Using a digital waxing iron is a real treat. If your budget does not allow this type of iron you should be able to pick up a cheap one at the home improvement center. Start at a low temp and slowly increase it until you get your wax melting. Use a sharpie to mark up the iron to leave yourself notes on what setting you used.
Extension Cord: A short 20 foot extension cord comes in handy. In a crowded wax room its not always possible to find a bench that is close enough for your iron cord to reach.
Rubber Gloves: Keep your hands clean when using solvents, handling paste waxes, or applying liquid waxes.
Dust Broom: Make clean up after waxing your skis, easy. Two minutes with a dust broom and no one will know you where there.
Drop Cloth: If your using a portable bench, you can make clean up indoors or outdoors super easy by using a drop cloth.
Lighter: Used for lighting ptex candles. You do have ptex in your kit don't you?
Sharpie: Another thing you will find a million uses for. Keep notes on what you did, or put your name on things so they do not find a new home.
Epoxy: Notice a little delamination going on along your ski base? Mix up a little epoxy and place it between the layers. Use rubber gloves and tape off sections of the ski you do not want to get epoxy on. Then use a small clamp to apply a small amount of pressure to to the area.
Clamp: A small 4"- 6" clamp can be used for many things on the wax bench. Can be used to hold vices or profilers in place or used to fix serious alpine ski edge damage on your twin tip park skis. When an edge breaks and there is a part of the edge protruding from the ski, use the clamp to push the edge back into the ski.
Fast Wax has compiled this list of things to improve your toolbox and think about when waxing. Hopefully, some of these additions can make a big difference in your speed and make you fast!