Stuck Inside

-A guide to social distance ski tuning-

The 2020 ski season has come to an abrupt halt, and most of us can no longer ski as the result of social distancing concerns.  It’s understandable that most of us haven’t given much thought to tuning our skis and getting them ready for storage, but it’s time for us to wrap up our equipment and put a bow on the 2020 season.

 

Tuning at home can sometimes be difficult because we are all limited by time restraints. One of the good things about social distancing and home quarantine, is we have time and many of us are looking for projects to keep us busy.

 

With the government shutting down most “non-essential” businesses, it would be a good idea to at least call your local ski shop to see if they are open for online business or at least able to ship product bought over the phone. Keep in mind, supporting small business is very important to the health of our beloved sport and without these local stores, the ski industry would be in dire straits.

 

Ski Inspection

First, it's important to inspect your skis to see if they need more than just a simple storage tune-up.

 

  • Inspect the base material for scratches or gouges- If the damage is severe and requires being brought to a shop for service work, just put a simple layer of wax on the skis to protect the base and then, email your local shop to setup a service appointment in June.
  • If the base material has simple scratches that can be fixed with P-tex, you will be able to complete this work in your home shop.
  • Inspect the edge material- Small burs or nicks can be worked out with diamond stones or sharpening. Larger scratches or more severe edge damage will likely require a shop to stone grind the skis and reset the edge bevels.

If your skis require more than just a “home tune-up”, here is a short video that shows the entire shop “Wintersteiger-machine” ski tuning process.

 

Home Tuning Supplies

 

 

As mentioned before, if your skis need attention that is beyond at home tuning, please email your local shop and setup a ski service appointment for June. Your local shop will likely be busy once the government social distancing guidelines are lifted, be sure to have an appointment for service.

 

 

The first step in tuning for storage is making sure you have all the supplies you will need for tuning. You will need the following materials- *Check on-line or call your local shop for needed supplies.

 

 

  • P-tex for base repairs
  • Diamond stones for taking the bur off the edges
  • Proper side edge bevel guides
  • Files for sharpening edges or a SWIX- EVO Pro Edger

  • Base cleaner- I84

  • Storage wax (standard base prep or CH-Hydrocarbon will do)

  • Nylon or Bronze brush

  • Plastic scraper

  • Scraper sharpener

  • Iron

  • Ski straps

Click the specific tuning video links below for SWIX School tutorial-

 

-Getting Started-

 

Repairing base damage video

 

Cleaning base material

 

Mending damaged steel edges

 

Prepping steel edges

 

Using the SWIX EVO Pro Edger

 

Saturating the base material with wax

 

Please feel free to email with any specific questions on ski tuning, wax and supplies, I am happy

to answer them for you:  glonetto@swixsport.com

 

We here at SWIX wish you the best health for you and your family. Please, stay safe and healthy

and we are looking forward to a wonderful 2021 season!

 

Graham Lonetto
SWIX USA Alpine Director