I have been using a clothes iron to wax my skis.?

Question

I make sure it gets hot enough to throughly melt the wax without making it smoke and everything seems to work fine. Is this a bad idea?

Answer 1

I've been doing just that for 40 years, or even a little hotter. If you check very close every wax technician who says do not use an iron with holes in it seem to have a special iron for sale without the holes for about $75.  I'm too cheap to pay that price and I'm not an international class racer where the slightest bit of contamination could cost me a race and a loss of a hundred thousand dollars.  When or if you get that good, the race team will have all of the goodies you will need.  Skill is more important than the number of holes in an old electric iron.  Smile, have fun, enjoy the sport.

Answer 2

Yes, this is a bad idea---stop using an ironing board to wax your skis. I've been skiing for over 35 yrs. & I wax my skis at least once a yr., depending on how much skiing I've been doing.

All ski shops sell great ski wax & it's just as easy as waxing your car. You don't have to heat up your wax at all.

The ski wax at ski shops may be a little expensive but it works. Another excellent alternative, is to use a paste car wax. This is just as good. Paste wax is the best type of wax & is similiar to the type of wax sold at ski shops & it is much cheaper.

Remember, always make sure your skis are completely clean before you wax them--you wouldn't wax your car without washing it first--would you?

Apply the wax with a soft cloth, like a chesse cloth or soft cotton. You can get a cheese cloth at any auto store that carries car wax. Apply the wax evenly with the cloth & let it dry for a few minutes so it can stick to the bottom of your skis. Then take a clean cloth & buff the wax thoroughly until the suface becomes very smooth & slippery!!! This will allow your skis to run smoothly over the snow when you ski.

Since you're particular abouot wax; another thing to do is to sharpen your edges. Ski shops sell these sharpeners or you can find sharpeners that are used to sharpen kitchen knives. This is as important as waxing your skis. With you edges sharpen; your ski will cut into the snow & you'll carve your turns much better & your skis won't slip out from under you--this is especially important when it icy.

HAVE FUN!!

Answer 3

In addition to using a good-old-fashioned iron (like Jim W), I also have used...with much success, the following combo:

1. A Wagner power paint stripper.

2. A flat metal trowel...brand new.

3. Plastic wax scraper.

4. Waxing cork.

Put the paint stripper in a bench vice and turn it on. Heat up the trowel. Use the trowel to first melt the wax and coat the base. Re-heat when needed and spread around. You will waste a lot less wax this way. After it cools, use a plastic wax scraper to get rid of the excess (which there won't be a lot of) and the buff with a waxing cork.

I've yet to burn the wax and using the paint stripper kept my mom from getting on my case about wrecking her iron. Plus, it's a lot easier to manipulate the trowel and it's hard to burn the base of the ski. You only need to heat the trowel a bit...just enough to melt the wax. You can melt a ski base if the iron is set too high.

But...that's just what I did for years. If you have those tools handy, great. If not...don't go out and buy them...an iron is a lot cheaper.

Answer 4

That's fine. If it has holes in it, you may ruin its functionality  as a clothes iron, but as long as you don't let it get so hot to melt the bases (which is really quite hot) it will work fine. Also, it's a good idea to turn the iron off when you actually run it across the ski, as it will still be hot enough to melt the wax but you eliminate the risk of the heating element coming back on during the process.

Do a search on "Doug Coombs Q and P ski tune". There is a great video out there of Doug tuning his skis. Not by the book, but effective, funny, and easy, as it should be.

Answer 5

As long as it does not have holes like a steam iron and your keeping the temp at a reasonable level it should be alright. If you are waxing race skis you may want to consider investing in a more expensive iron.