How to maintain and repair your mountain skis

To get the most out of your mountain skis, it is necessary to devote a little attention to it by carrying out good periodic maintenance and occasional basic repairs. The following tasks that we propose are those that we can do ourselves:

Clean the soles of your mountain skis

The first thing to do is clean the sole of the ski of impurities and spent wax with a piece of paper and if it is very dirty, use a solvent product that, after applying it, you should leave to rest for a few minutes so that the encrusted dirt comes out . Then clean it with a piece of paper and pass it a bronze brush.

Apply hot wax to the sole using a brush. If you do a superficial polishing, apply soft waxes (high temperatures) and remove what is left over with a hard nylon brush; while if you apply universal or hard waxes (low temperatures) use a softer nylon brush. Cork and felt brushes are used when you have applied waxes without an iron (cold), so that they penetrate better into the sole of the skis.

Next, remove the residual wax with a methacrylate scraper, the kind used to remove excess wax, and brush the sole well.

Repair the soles

When the sole is seriously damaged, or at least once a season, it is advisable to go to a professional to repair the soles of the skis. Although, if you dare, you can also learn to do it yourself.

When you have to fix small holes, use the 'cofix'. To apply it, you have to clean the hole with a utility knife and then heat the 'cofix' that you will apply (it can be done with a lighter or a soldering iron), allowing the melting drops to cover the hole (with caution). that it does not burn); once cold (after 30 to 40 minutes), remove the excess with the classic metal scraper and, if we already want to leave it feten, finish off the job by passing a fine sandpaper. For larger holes, 'metal grip' ('cofix' mixed with 'epoxy' adhesives) is used, which is applied with the help of a welder.

Sharpens the edges

The ideal is to start working on the side of the ski, which is the most common and easiest to do.

Depending on the ski and the type of skier, the sharpening process is worked at different angles. To know the angle of the edges of our ski, paint the lateral angle with an indelible marker and start sharpening with the largest angle (90 degrees) gradually reducing it until you see the marker mark disappear.

In parallel, there is also the 'tuning' tool, which allows you to sharpen the part of the edge that is in contact with the sole.

Edge maintenance should be a regular task, just like waxing, but we must not overdo it with files and sanding. Use the diamonds whenever you can, reserving the files for when you see the most damaged edges.

To remove rust from the edges, use abrasive rubber, and if you see burrs, use aluminum stones. Then, sharpen the edges with diamonds or if they are very bad, with a file. There are coarse, medium and fine ones, depending on the number of steps per centimeter and their depth. When using the files, keep in mind that they have a sense of use that is normally indicated by an arrow. Take a good look!

When you finish sharpening the edges, it is convenient to clean the soles, to remove impurities and remains from the sharpening process.

Give wax to the soles

To complete the job with a good waxing, the first thing is to clean the sole (see first point of the article) and, later, situate ourselves in a well-ventilated place. Next, prepare the iron by adjusting it to the application temperature indicated by the wax. Melt a few drops along the sole of the ski, in a sufficient amount that, once distributed, guarantees the distribution of wax over the entire surface of the sole of the ski. Next, he passes the iron making movements in a circle to distribute the wax well and, finally, he passes the iron slowly but without stopping, all over the sole.

Later, let the ski cool down and remove the excess wax with a methacrylate scraper, passing it from the spatula towards the tail of the ski, until no excess wax comes out. Then, we pass the nylon brush, also from the spatula towards the tail of the ski, until the sole is shiny. Finally, if there is wax on the edges, also remove it with the methacrylate scraper.