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Waxing tips Alpine skis Glide Waxing

Warm up the sliding wall

    1. Be sure to set the correct heat on your curling iron. See the front of the paraffin boxes for more info.
    2. When the curling iron is at the right temperature, hold the curling iron upside down at about a 60 angle to the surface. Then rotate down one edge of the corrugation iron to get a good drip edge. Place the paraffin against the heating plate, when the paraffin begins to melt and drip onto the coating. Move the iron at a balanced speed so that you get a continuous paraffin stripe on the coating.et.
    3. Now you have a paraffin stripe along the entire surface of the ski. Place the heating plate of the cast iron parallel to the coating and melt in the paraffin. ATTENTION! Always keep the roller moving to avoid burning the coating.

Gliding before training

If you want to supplement with new skis before training and don't want to clean your skis from scratch, you can follow these steps.

  1. Start by brushing a couple of times in the direction of travel with a fine steel brush to open up the coating.
  2. Then choose paraffin according to the current weather, warm the paraffin in the sliding zones of the ski. Sickle off the ski, then start brushing out the coating with a horsehair brush, then finish with a nylon brush to polish up the coating. 

To achieve the best results regarding gliding, follow these steps;

  1. Before a competition, you should thoroughly clean your skis. See our guide for how to do this.
  2. When it's time to choose paraffin, you preferably start by putting graphite paraffin at the bottom. Graphite works like a velcro between the coating and the sliding paraffin. It gives you a durable and long-lasting glide. You melt in and drain off the graphite paraffin as usual.
  3. Then brush off the coating according to the guide below.
  4. Now it's time to choose the paraffin that suits the current feed. Then you follow the same process as with Graphite. Warms up, sickles off and the three-step brushing of the coating.
  5. Should it be the best glide, you then continue with a topping product and brush out again.

This is how you brush the surface before competition:

  1. First, brush with horsehair back and forth on the coating until nothing comes out of the coating. Brush a lot, here you can never brush too much. At least 20-30 moves.
  2. Make two or three loose strokes in the direction of travel with a fine wire brush to get down into the texture of the surface.
  3. Finish by polishing the coating with a fine nylon brush. Liquid topping is hard so we recommend brushing a lot.

 

Mulching with Topping products

(Here follows a general instruction, check what your particular topping product has for the desired method. The films talk about fluorine, but it is generally the same approach for fluorine-free topping products)

Fixed topping

  1. Add paraffin that fits today's forehead.
  2. Iron on with the topping brick so that there is a film over the entire sliding surface.
  3. Cork in with a natural cork, by hand or with a rotary cork so that the coating is warm.
  4. Now let the ski rest for approx. 20 min.
  5. Brush the ski. Recommended brushes are horsehair brush, fine wire brush (by hand) and nylon brush. See the brush guide above.
  6. For better durability redo points 2-5 again.
     

Topping in powder form

  1. Add Graphite which you then sickle and brush.
  2. Put on paraffin for the day before. Sickle and brush.
  3. Sprinkle today's topping powder evenly over the sliding surface.
  4. Stamp the powder with the rolling pin and then move the pin at a steady speed over the sliding surface. Use high heat so you don't have to pull the iron back and forth, it can overheat and damage the coating. Make sure the powder darkens after the iron.
  5. Let the ski rest for about 20 minutes, if possible longer.
  6. Now all that remains is brushing. Brush preferably as close to the time of riding as possible. Recommended brushes are horsehair brush, fine wire brush (by hand) and fine nylon brush, again according to the brush guide above.
     

Liquid topping

  1. Add a layer of Graphite. Sickle and brush.
  2. Put on paraffin for the day before. Sickle and brush.
  3. Apply fluid to the sliding surface. Now let it dry for about 10 minutes.
  4. Now cork the fluid with a natural cork, by hand or with a rotary cork until the coating becomes lukewarm.
  5. Let the ski rest, approx. 20 min.
  6. Now you can brush the coating. Recommended brushes are horsehair brush, fine wire brush (by hand) and nylon brush. Liquid topping gets hard so we recommend brushing a lot. See also our brush guide above.

Below you can see Gunde Svan's tips, in collaboration with Swix, for how to lay gliding wool. It is largely the same approach for an alpine ski.

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