What is burnt coating / ice burn on skis?
Burning the coating on skis can be done in two different ways. The one and most common way is when ironing with an iron in the wrong way so that you get too high a temperature in the coating so that it is destroyed. Then the coating usually swells up and loses its flat surface, which is immediately noticeable when sickling. If you're lucky, it can be fixed if you hand the skis in to a shop for stone grinding.
The other way is to go fast with alpine skis, often on icy ground, in long pressing turns, so that the frictional heat becomes so high that the surface melts. It is the latter that we write about on this page.
Experiencing burnt pads on alpine skis is no fun. It happens easily on poorly prepared skis on icy surfaces at high speeds. The frictional heat becomes so high that the edges of the surface melt from the heat developed in the steel edges at its high speed under pressure against the snow. The coating material gets stuck in the snow and disappears, leaving pits in the coating at the steel edges. This first happens in the middle of the boots, where the pressure against the back is greatest.
This is what a burnt coating can look like. These are pictures of new racing skis model year 2020 of the highest quality. The skier is an U14 skier and the discipline is giant slalom. However, a steep hill with high speeds and very icy ground.
What can be done to prevent burnt coatings?
Rock with as hard/cold rock as possible, on icy burning ground it slides well even if the rock is far below the actual temperature. First base the skis with graphite wax which binds well to the surface of the ski and which in turn binds the green/cold wax well. Mow abundantly and don't brush out the pod as hard as you usually do. After sickling, you should only get the ski smooth by a little brushing.
This product is very good to use on abrasive surfaces: Swix Polar powder.
How to fix burnt coatings?
Burnt coatings, as in the pictures above, are easily repaired with coating material and a steel sickle. See more about it on the various coating products that you will find on our website.