Don’t Forget About Your Cross Country Skis This Summer
We know you are excited about summer, getting out in the sun, enjoying the fresh-cut golf courses or a leisure bike ride and the last thing you want to have to deal with is packing away your cross country skis. However, we highly recommend that you take the time to properly care for your skis before packing them away, this will result in a significantly improved lifespan and performance of your skis. The following are two easy methods for preparing your skis for the summer season; one is for recreational skis and the other is for race skis.
Wax On, Wax Off.
Waxing is crucial for properly maintaining your cross country skis. Here is how we recommend you properly wax your classic and skate cross country skis:
Step 1: Clean your skis. For classic skis, use a putty knife and wax remover/base cleaner in the grip/kick zone. Once it is clean, tape the grip zone with wide masking tape to protect it while you work on the glide zones.
Step 2: Use the hot scrape method for cleaning the glide zones by applying a soft base prep wax or hydrocarbon wax, scrape while warm, allow to cool for 10 minutes and then brush out.
Step 3: Iron in a layer of soft wax such as Toko Yellow or Swix PS10. No need to scrape or brush. Just leave the wax on there and scrape and brush next all. That’s it! You are done! That wasn’t so hard now was it?
Don’t have an iron?
No worries! Follow the first step above to clean off any grip wax or klister. Then
use a glide wax cleaner such as Ulla Base Cleaner and Conditioner or Swix Glide Wax Cleaner on the glide section of your skis to remove any dirty wax or residue. Once you are finished with that step, apply a liquid wax cover such as Vauhti or Swix to cover the glide section of your ski. Wait until completely dry and then store skis. In the fall, clean this layer off by first bushing the reside and then applying the glide wax cleaner once more. Brush well with nylon or medium bronze brush. Your skis are now ready to re-wax for the new season or Apply 2 layers of Ulla red glide wax using the Merino wool Buffing system and store skis for summer.
A Few More Steps For Your Race Skis
Use the same procedures as above, but with a few additional steps for the best results for your cross country racing skis. You are going to want to clean and tape off your grip zones on your classic skis. Consider conditioning and removing any oxidation from your glide zones, by brushing 4-5 passes with a pre-waxing brush. A fine steel brush, bronze or copper brush will be perfect for this task. After which you will need to do 8-10 passes with a fibertex pad If you have been using HF waxes or powders on your skis, use a fluor glide wax cleaner to remove the fluorocarbons out of your skis. It is vital that you clean your skis thoroughly. Repeat the hot scrape cleaning technique until the wax you scrape off your base is clean and free of black specks. Iron in a layer of soft wax, either Swix PS10 or Toko Yellow. Alternatively, you can clean your skis with a base cleaning conditioner such as Ulla Base Conditioner and Cleaner. Brush with a horsehair brush. They apply 2 layers of Ulla Red using the Merino Wool Buffing system. Once you have completed this final step of either option you are finished and ready to store your skis for the summer. Don’t forget to store your skis somewhere cooler and will not be prone to significant fluctuations in temperatures.
Stussi Sports Has you Covered
We know the weather is
beautiful out there and you want to soak it all in. Let Stussi Sport take care of your cross country skis this summer season. We will professionally wax and prepare your skis for storage in the summer season and have them ready for you when you need them to come winter. Our storage wax service for your cross-country skis is as low as $25. Also, feel free to ask if you want more information about the Ulla Wax System and consider stone grinding your skis, as the end of the season is the best time for stone grinding your cross country skis. Feel free to come drop in and talk to us about the best options for you! You can also visit our website here. We are still taking drop-ins till April 30th, however, we do take storage appointments. Please contact us either by phone(250-542-4141) or fill in our contact form on our website here.