Remove bindings before waxing?

[Fleaman]

I know this has been covered before, but I was just wondering if anyone has had a base or core delaminate because he/she hot waxed their board and left the bindings tight?

I do loosen the screws if it its easy, but I have a pair of burton race plates on one of my boards and the rear binding with the cant is a pain to take off all the time. I do wax my sticks alot so I don't want to wear out the insert threads and the caps of the screws.

[Gecko]

it to have the base ground with the bindings on...I did this with my Tbolted board because it's a PITA to get the bindings on (I didn't place the Tbolts perfectly) if you use a Ski waxing iron and not a trashed clothes Iron its hard to get it hot enough to hurt the base short of leaving on the base. All I ever really do on my Coiler is remove the plates and loosen the disks (Cateks) it's easy enough and takes almost no time

[hangten247]

I rarely if ever take my bindings off to wax my board. I have never had a board of my own delam due to this in 17 years of me riding, or customer's boards or fleet rental boards in 22 years of working off and on (mostly on) in shops since 1982. We're talking hundreds of boards, including rental boards which get multiple tuneups and hotwaxes in the life of their use. If you are really concerned about it, I would suggest that you find the lowest possible temp on the board that melts wax and minimize the contact in the area around the inserts. I find that most waxing issues stem from too hot an iron. In all my years of experiece, this is the first time I have ever heard this concern before. I was never aware of potential delam issues until I saw this post.

[bobdea]

if I am not in a lazy mood

so that means 30% of the time I loosen them

I totally agree with hangten about most problems stem from a iron being too hot

even many people that work in ski shops who should know better crank the iron up too high pretty sad really when you pay $30 for a hand tune and guy doing it is careless

[lonerider]

Originally posted by KenW

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/raysway/raysway.waxwhiz.htm

and never worry about overheating your base again.

Mike DeSantis from PTC gave me a Wax Wizzard two years ago, and the thing really works. My iron has been collecting dust ever since.

Hey Ken, how do you clean your Wizzard once it gets gunked up with wax? Does it still work that way? (I hope so since that's way I've been just ignoring it).

[philfell]

If the iron is at the right temp it's not that bad to wax with your screws tight, but it you loosen them you have less chance of bindng suck. (where your inserts pull slightly towards the top sheet leaving little dimples in the base.)

[Donek]

Originally posted by Fleaman

I know this has been covered before, but I was just wondering if anyone has had a base or core delaminate because he/she hot waxed their board and left the bindings tight?

The problem is not with delamination, it's with deformation. As you are probably aware, you get some binding suck with the bindings mounted to the board. By heating the board up in this tensioned state, you can leave the board with permamnent binding suck even when the bindings are removed. Epoxy resin systems vary, but it is possible to reach the glass transition temperature while hot waxing if you are not careful. Epoxies don't move much at these temperatures, but they will a bit. I think you can pretty safely wax the board without causing delamination. Your binding suck may become deeper or larger though.

[D-Sub]

you know...I've never once heard about this insert sucking thing, but Ive SEEN it on many boards...except it was on NEW ones, too.

my question is this

why is this not stated clearly? why dont board manufacturers say to owners "it is a good idea to loosen your bindings when waxing?"

seriously...its kinda irritating to know how many things we are "supposed" to do but arent told about.

one shouldnt have to take a class, buy a book, or anything else to know how to properly maintain a snowboard!

does this mean that the boards I have where I can feel the insert spots when waxing are ruined?

[Dan]

Originally posted by D-Sub

does this mean that the boards I have where I can feel the insert spots when waxing are ruined?

Not if you ride on the edges :-)

Seriously, as board geeks, that stuff bothers us, but I don't think it makes much of a performance difference - have you noticed any issues with your boards that have binding suck? I never have...

[Derf]

Originally posted by D-Sub

you know...I've never once heard about this insert sucking thing, but Ive SEEN it on many boards...except it was on NEW ones, too.

my question is this

why is this not stated clearly? why dont board manufacturers say to owners "it is a good idea to loosen your bindings when waxing?"

seriously...its kinda irritating to know how many things we are "supposed" to do but arent told about.

one shouldnt have to take a class, buy a book, or anything else to know how to properly maintain a snowboard!

does this mean that the boards I have where I can feel the insert spots when waxing are ruined?

The main reason I would guess is because most people (the vast majority) don't wax and sharpen their board themselves, they have it done at the shop, and most competent shop guys know they have to do this. It's how I learned it, by asking if it was better to bring my board to the shop with or without bindings. And these are the things you learn when doing stuff regular riders/skiers don't do.

[Fleaman]

why is this not stated clearly? why dont board manufacturers say to owners "it is a good idea to loosen your bindings when waxing?"

Sounds like a class action lawsuit to me. Where do I sign up.:D

Bob, I saw the wax wizard a while ago, but just looked at it in awe. I kinda like melting wax and getting a good head buzz from the fumes.

So what you guys are saying is if your temp is controlled using a good waxing iron it won't get hot enough to do anything to the base thanks.

[D-Sub]

good points, all, and yeah, Im on edge more than anything:)

still tho...it would be so easy to make sure everyone knows.

Ive always tuned my own boards and, while they certainly dont look like a PTC job they work fine, but I dont want to _cause_ any problems

Ive always used a household iron set to medium-low ("2-3") and never let it sit in one place for any time at all.

this binding suck...Ill bet it happens even from riding, no?

[C5 Golfer]

Originally posted by Fleaman

I. I do wax my sticks alot so I don't want to wear out the insert threads and the caps of the screws.

I agree why wear out your threads. Same reason I do not remove my car seats when washing and waxing the Corvette. :D

Or why I do not remove my wheels when changing the oil.

[Fleaman]

Originally posted by C5 Golfer

I agree why wear out your threads. Same reason I do not remove my car seats when washing and waxing the Corvette. :D

Or why I do not remove my wheels when changing the oil.

Yeah but do you tape your sidewalls on your board so you dont have to scrape the wax drippings off?

[D-Sub]

so are we starting that class action?

;)

[bobdea]

Originally posted by D-Sub

good points, all, and yeah, Im on edge more than anything:)

still tho...it would be so easy to make sure everyone knows.

Ive always tuned my own boards and, while they certainly dont look like a PTC job they work fine, but I dont want to _cause_ any problems

Ive always used a household iron set to medium-low ("2-3") and never let it sit in one place for any time at all.

this binding suck...Ill bet it happens even from riding, no?

I had a Burner explode on me tore the front inserts right out, Sims said it was that I was using metal bindings but did replace the board

I tore out a burton amp and came really close with a burton speed stress cracks at on the topheet and a massive amount of suck

I should mention that Burton replaced both decks the amp was way out of warranty and I got a alp to replace it I totally scored on that one

all three of those boards were taking allot of abuse before they failed the speed took the most I actually bent the bails on my catek WCs

I guess my weight has allot to do with it

I had a rossi that a insert spun I have no idea how that happened it made it really hard to get the binding off

[Fleaman]

When I was learning to snowboard, I had an old Look Overspeed and ripped the front binding out of the topsheet (no inserts) so after that I was a bit cautious with it. When I ordered my first Coiler, I asked Bruce if he could reinforce the inserts. He did. It added a few mm between the topsheet and the inserts so I needed longer screws, but I have the peice of mind that I will never rip them out.

[Hans]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney

Lonerider,

I've been using the WaxWhizard for two years as well. The big secret is to not use too much wax during the rub-on stage.

Try applying WAY less than you think is necessary and burnishing with the WW to see what sort of coverage you are getting. If the wax is covering the entire surface in a very light coat, then this is enough. If you are applying to much pressure or spending a lot of time in one place on the board, then you need to add a bit more wax. (You don't need to use any significant pressure for the WW to do its job.)

If you are using too much, you’ll see a cloudy film as you are burnishing.

As for cleaning, I don't bother. I have three and use each one for different temperature waxes. This keeps the wax mixture free from cross contamination and reduces the amount of wax build up.

Remember to brush out the wax after burnishing to open up the structure.

As for cleaning, the WW seems to work very well even clogged up. So, I've not cleaned mine yet.

You can purchase replacement fabric from PTC if you think it's getting too clogged.

Hi, Bob

Interesting tool. Just another question. Can I use hardwax with this tuningwhizard or do I have to use soft wax ??? (since I have two kgs of hardwax in the closet)

If so, how does it work?

Greets, Hans.

[Bullwings]

Another back from the dead thread here... more of this has been going on as of late, but i figure there's a lot of good info here (better than starting a new one).

however, with all the good info, i'm not too clear on an answer. I know you "should" loosen/remove your bindings before waxing, but that seems a bit excessive if you wax every day or every other day of riding. plus, it's a PITA to do that with TD2s, what with having to remove the top plate first.

so, if i'm careful about not overheating the board, which I already am (not using a clothes iron either), is it really necessary to remove/loosen my bindings?

[D-Sub]

no.

:)