How important is it to thoroughly clean the base of your board prior to waxing, and what do you use to clean it?

Very Important, I would defiantly clean the base before you wax. It makes a BIG difference.

What I do, is I get a scraper to get rid of some older wax and to get rid of any dirt or grime. Then I get a base cleaner (you can buy proper base cleaner, I use Bacoda? http://www.shopsnowbirdski.com/babacl.html) and just spray it all over the board then wipe it of withpaper towels. Then apply your wax

good question.

What are the various products that you can use?
What about the normal household cleaners. I've heard some say that any citrus cleaner would do.
I've tried to always use RED base cleaner.

antt321 - 29 June 2009 11:41 AM

Very Important, I would defiantly clean the base before you wax.

Defiantly is the only way to go..Don`t let your board give you any lip..

snowslider - 29 June 2009 11:52 AM

good question.

What are the various products that you can use?
What about the normal household cleaners. I've heard some say that any citrus cleaner would do.
I've tried to always use RED base cleaner.

Ive herd that aswell. I'm sure that would do just as good a job.

Personally I don't think it's necessary to clean your base every time you wax. Every time you use base cleaner you dry out your base. Only clean your base when it is necessary, when you can visibly see dirt and grime. There are alternate methods to base cleaner that wont dry out your base. ie.e hot scraping.

Hot scraping?

Branski - 29 June 2009 04:31 PM

Hot scraping?

Hot Scraping is a method of waxing. Were you heat the wax and "scrap" it into your board. Let it dry and hey presto you can ride.

I thinks thats what he means.

antt321 - 29 June 2009 04:45 PM

Branski - 29 June 2009 04:31 PM

Hot scraping?

Hot Scraping is a method of waxing. Were you heat the wax and "scrap" it into your board. Let it dry and hey presto you can ride.

I thinks thats what he means.

It`s hot waxing your board and scraping it while it is still warm..That takes off dirt with the wax...and then you hot wax again..let it dry...then scrape..then ride..

edit..Here..I dug this up for you guys..

Use the hot-scrape method to completely clean the base of old wax before you add new wax. The idea is to use warm/liquefied wax to "wash out" the dirt and old wax.
Choose an inexpensive soft wax, the red (warm) hydrocarbon made here is ideal for this.
Drip on a coat of wax
Work tip to tail.
You want a warmer iron for this step so and scrape it off while it is still liquid. You should have a 8-12 inch trail of liquid wax behind the iron without overheating the base.
You can monitor the temperature by touching the top of the ski (which is now under the base); keep in mind that the thermal properties of skis (how well heat passes through from base to top) differs from ski-to-ski because the layers may have different thicknesses or materials.
Repeat waxing/scraping until the wax is clean.
Select a wax for the final wax/scrape that is closer to the temperature of your race wax; select a warm or cold version.
After your last scraping, brush tip to tail with a brass brush; the wax can be warm for this step.

Yep, Dave got it. You melt the wax into your board as if waxing normally, then you scrape it immediately while the wax and base are still warm. The pores in your base are still open while the board is warm. When you scrape, all the dirt and grime is removed with the wax. Then re-wax as usual. This method will not dry your base out.

Cheers Jez...I didn`t want to tread on your turf

Dave99 - 29 June 2009 04:50 PM

antt321 - 29 June 2009 04:45 PM

Branski - 29 June 2009 04:31 PM

Hot scraping?

Hot Scraping is a method of waxing. Were you heat the wax and "scrap" it into your board. Let it dry and hey presto you can ride.

I thinks thats what he means.

It`s hot waxing your board and scraping it while it is still warm..That takes off dirt with the wax...and then you hot wax again..let it dry...then scrape..then ride..

edit..Here..I dug this up for you guys..

Use the hot-scrape method to completely clean the base of old wax before you add new wax. The idea is to use warm/liquefied wax to "wash out" the dirt and old wax.
Choose an inexpensive soft wax, the red (warm) hydrocarbon made here is ideal for this.
Drip on a coat of wax
Work tip to tail.
You want a warmer iron for this step so and scrape it off while it is still liquid. You should have a 8-12 inch trail of liquid wax behind the iron without overheating the base.
You can monitor the temperature by touching the top of the ski (which is now under the base); keep in mind that the thermal properties of skis (how well heat passes through from base to top) differs from ski-to-ski because the layers may have different thicknesses or materials.
Repeat waxing/scraping until the wax is clean.
Select a wax for the final wax/scrape that is closer to the temperature of your race wax; select a warm or cold version.
After your last scraping, brush tip to tail with a brass brush; the wax can be warm for this step.

Ahh I never knew of that way :O

I just cleaned it then hot waxed. Thanks for the new lesson haha

Hi Fellas,
I asked the same question to the boys at my local SnowBiz.
Their Answer.... Head on down to Mitre 10 and pick up some stuff called DE-SOLV-IT
Its a citrus based cleaner so it wont damage the base of your board and its friggin cheap compared to the special base cleaner.
Apparently thats what they use and it worked a treat for me!
Cheers

Citrus cleaner works fine. If you are cleaning your base on a regular basis, the best method is the 'hot scrape'. At the end of the season I would use base cleaner to thoroughly clean the base before storage waxing. Using base cleaner once a season won't hurt the board.

i use desolvit from bunnings.. but i was abit weary about using it.. so i diluted it about 50/50 with some distilled water and make sure i get it all off then wax straight away..

el