Glide
wax application
The
necessary material:
- preform + waxing profile
or table
- waxing iron
- hand brushes for final
finish: gentle nylon or
natural silk
- hand brushes for general
use: medium nylon, stiff
nylon
or
- roto brushes + shaft:
medium nylon, stiff nylon
- roto corks for Cera
application
or
- synthetic cork
- a minimum 5mm width
acrylic plexi scraper
- electric drill to work
with roto brushes
- pencil groove
scraper
- absorbing paper
- Fiberlene or nylon
stockings
- thermometer / hygrometer
/ notebook / calculator
Cleaning
and preparing the ski base
Put your skis on a waxing
table and fix them.
Case
n°1: General ski
maintenance at the
beginning of the season
(clean snow)
Proceed to mechanical
cleaning using a wax for
cold snow (PFX 1 or 6 LOW)
and hot scraping
technique. Apply a little
more wax than usually for
racing. Adjust a plexi
scraper close to your iron
so that it makes contact
with your ski base. While
hot scraping, a comb will
be formed between the
scraper and the iron.
While moving it will
dissolve and lift old
waxes, remains and dirt
from the depths and the
pores of the ski base. You
can compare this method
and its results to waves
on the sea shore.
Case n°2: Ski
maintenance at the end of
the season (dirty snow)
Pour into a container a
small amount of liquid
cleaner and apply it along
your ski base with the
help of a paintbrush.
To clean the depths of the
structure brush the base
from tail to tip using a
brass brush with very fine
bristles (30 to
70microns).
Repeat the procedure; keep
your base always humid.
Then clean it with a cloth
or absorbing paper.
Common procedure before
storage or other wax
application
To "open" the
base fibres brush your ski
base from tail to tip (1)
using a stiff nylon brush,
preferably a roto one (mounted
on a steel shaft without a
cord). It will allow
better wax saturation to
your base during the next
step.
(1)
Attention: this is the
only operation demanding
reverse brushing (from
tail to tip).
Make
a weather report for
several parts of the track.
To
have better glide is to
divine the state of snow
and its probable
transformation. Divining
resorts to your memory and
even if it is highly
improbable to find the
same types of snow, we
advise you, nevetheless,
to make your own data base.
Weather:
- Sun
- Sun / Shadow
- Shadow
- Cloudy
- Cloudy + snow
- Cloudy + rain
- Mist
Snow
is the kind of material
that constantly evoluates,
starting from its
formation in the
atmosphere, during its
fall and up to its melting
on the ground. It
undergoes cyclic
trasformations affected by
the sun, night refreezing,
its own weight, wind,
temperature and humidity
fluctuations and mechanic
grooming. Such evolution
of snow crystal shapes
leads to constant
modification of mechanical
properties of a snow
mantle .
Defining the type or the
family of snow crystals is
very important to choose
the right structure and
the right wax. Here is the
diagram that will allow
you to define the type of
snowflakes for the falling
snow according to weather
conditions.
Remember that most of the
time the snow is groomed,
and thus, transformed.
Types
of snow:
- Fresh snow
- Fine grains
- Needles
- Prisms
- Rounded grains
- Plates
- Artificial (fine
droplets)
- Mixed
General snow aspect:
- Clean
- Half dirty
- Dirty
- Very dirty
A
report to make on a test
card:
- Place: ... exact
locality and altitude
- Date:
- Time at the beginning
of the test:
- Time at the end of
the test: including
the whole test phase, the
choice of structure, base
wax and Cera
- Weather conditions:
see "weather"
list, you can mix the
chosen waxes
- Last snow day:
the number of days after
the last snowfall
- Air temperature:
use a digital thermometer
with an external probe and
note the tenths
- Snow temperature:
the same goes for snow
temperature, put the probe
5cm deep into the snow at
an angle
- Humidity (%) :
use a hygrometer without a
porous cup
- Snow type: see
"types of snow"
list, make a multiple
choice
- Snow aspect: see
"general snow
aspect" list
- Structures: if
you use a digital
structure tools, note the
depth of the grooves in
microns and their
orientation, ex.: 15µm /
65°
- Observations:
general notes on test
conditions
GLIDE
WAX APPLICATION
(Alpine
skiing, cross-country
skiing, snowboard)
Basic
wax application PFX10 -
PFX6 - PFXG8 - (HF - LF -
CH).
- Set your iron
temperature as it is
advised by the
manufacturer. Take the
room temperature into
account.
- Melt the wax on your
iron plate and let the wax
trickle down on the base
homogeneously.
- Iron your base from tip
to tail, be regular and
move slowly.
- Remove the edges at
once, do not wait (2) and
scrape wax excess with a
plexi scraper, moving from
tip to tail. Do not press
your scraper too
hard.
- Let it cool down and
brush your base structure
from tip to tail with a
stiff nylon brush to clean
roughly and then with a
medium nylon brush to
clean the structure more
thoroughly. Use a natural
silk brush to polish the
base, finish with one
continuous stroke.
- Wipe your base with
absorbing paper.
(2)
All our studies show that
hot scraping is much
better, the wax molecule
remains unchanged, you
clean your skis structure
while preserving the base
flatness (only advantages!).If
you use hard wax for very
cold snow, don’t wait
and brush once the wax is
applied.
Now you can move to the
test protocol of the best
wax.
Step 1.
Prepare a number of skis
with the same wax
(standard wax).
Mark the track for timing
on a distance of
approximately 40-50 m, so
that timing doesn’t
exceed 10 seconds. Mark
your skis chronologically:
1, 2, 3, 4... in the order
of testing. Note most of
the information that you
can in the test card given
below.
|
N°
ski
|
T
n°1
|
T
2
|
T
3
|
T
4
|
Mean
|
%
/ calibr.
|
|
1
|
val1=6.27
|
6.32
|
6.35
|
6.33
|
mean=6.325
|
0.39%
|
|
2
|
6.25
|
6.28
|
6.32
|
6.36
|
6.3
|
0%
|
|
3
|
6.39
|
6.41
|
6.42
|
6.36
|
6.4
|
1.18%
|
Now
you can proceed to
calculations of the first
line:
Delete the largest and the
smallest extremums of the
first set: 6.35 and 6.27.
Mean value = (6.32 + 6.33)
/ 2 = 6.325.
Calculate mean values and
loss percentage for each
line. For this, mark the
smallest mean value close
to 0% and use this
reference to calculate the
last column of your table:
Ref val = reference value
= the smallest mean value
= 6.325.
Loss = (Mean val – Ref
val) / Ref val --> then
multiplied by 100. The
same goes for each line.
You have just classified
your skis!
Step 2.
Relying on your wax and
Cera suppliers’
selection tables, choose
three waxes. Prepare 3
pairs of the most rapid
skis with each wax and do
the timing again as in
step 1.
|
N°
|
T1
|
T2
|
T3
|
T4
|
Mean
|
%
calibr
|
Revised
time
|
Disparity %
Difference
|
|
1
|
6.07
|
6.12
|
6.15
|
5.99
|
6.095
|
0.39%
|
6.071
|
0%
|
|
2
|
6.25
|
6.18
|
6.59
|
6.02
|
6.215
|
0%
|
6.215
|
2.37%
|
|
3
|
6.30
|
6.38
|
6.39
|
6.32
|
6.35
|
1.18%
|
6.275
|
3.36%
|
Take
figures from the
%calibrage column and
apply the difference to
revise the time.
Ex. : ski n°3. Revised
time = 6.35 –1.18% =
6.275.
Step
3.
As snow conditions (types
of snowflakes) differ
along the track (more or
less abrasive snow), it is
advised to test your skis
on a 5km distance and do
the timing again to
confirm the final choice.
The final choice is based
on this calibration phase
for wax selection, but
most of all on the
sensations that you had on
the 5km distance.
Timing selection is
recommended for windless
conditions. You can
substitute it with a
speed/distance test. For
this, on a long and gentle
slope mark a start zone,
take a racing position and
slide down until you come
to a stop. Put these skis
aside and test the two
other pairs.
ATTENTION:
THE LAST TYPE OF TEST HAS
NO REFERENCE VALUE, IT IS
BETTER TO RELY ON YOUR
SENSATIONS OF SPEED,
ACCELERATION AND SNOW
TOUCH.
Cera
100% Fluorocarbon
application
First of all, put a gas
mask (to protect your eyes)
with a filter for organic
vapour. Put on your gloves.
Apply the Cera evenly on
your base, the containers
include a powder dosimeter.
Using an iron set on 150°C
melt Cera in short
successive touches along
your base. Iron in slow
to-and-fro movements and
finish with a continuous
stroke. Wait 1 or 2
minutes. Brush lightly
using a medium nylon hand
brush with a thick bunch
of bristles without
removing Cera excess. Rub
this excess on using a
roto cork or a synthetic
hand cork. Continue
brushing with a medium
nylon brush and finish
with a silk brush. Polish
and remove fat excess with
absorbing paper in one
stroke.
Liquid
CeraMax 100% Fluorocarbon
application
Thanks to its unique
qualities, liquid Cera Max
remains the best
accelerator among the new
generation of liquid waxes.
It is a liquid 100%
fluorocarbon synthesis
based on Cera Max PFX
technology. It was
designed as a final layer
for competitions and it
provides better
performance on a certain
type of snow (corn snow,
very wet snow > 85%,
rainy weather…)
comparing to powder Ceras.
Easy and fast to apply,
liquid Cera Max will give
you remarkable
acceleration and maximum
speed on long distances.
These liquid waxes are
destined as well for
"multiples
runs", such as second
run in alpine races,
boarder and ski crosses,
half-pipe, ski-jumping and
cross-country
sprints.
You get better results by
applying liquid Cera Max
with a Fiberlene or a felt
applicator and then brush
it manually (using silk
brushes). Do not iron.
Three drops are enough to
finish a ski prepared with
basic wax PFX10 - HF. Your
ski base should be
glittering evenly. Some
solvants cannot remove
this product after
competitions, we advise
you to apply abundantly
either cold maintenance
wax (PFX6
Low) or to iron it with absorbent paper.
Attention:
applying this product in
excess devaluates the
important role of your
skis structure.
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seul propriétaire du
contenu de cette rubrique
issu de ces travaux en
recherche et développement.
Si vous désirez utiliser
en partie ou entièrement
le contenu de ce texte à
des fins pédagogiques,
veuillez nous informer et
utiliser la mention (selon
les travaux de DRAGONSKI),
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responsabilité pour tout
dégât matériel ou
personnel qui pourrait être
causé par l'utilisation
des informations présentes
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