Tips on what to do with scraped off wax

[Missionman]

1. Does anyone reuse the scraped up wax? not being cheap or anything just seems like a waste to throw it all away

2. It's such a mess (the real reason for my post) It sticks to everything and its brutal to get off the floor. I'm concerned it will gum up my vacuum cleaner... It static clings to the board in small bits ultimately to come to rest in my carpet...

Am I the only guy that gets annoyed by this? I love waxing and scraping and buffing my boards but the cleanup is such a downer.

Anyone have any cool tips for this? Maybe I just get a cheap dust buster for this sole purpose ?

[Allee]

I throw a plastic tarp down. It's pretty easy to brush the wax flakes off it, and then take it outside and give it a shake when you're done. If the odd bit sticks - meh.

 

I'd never re-use the wax. Where do you think all the dirt goes that gets pulled out of your base when you wax? You want that out of your board, not back on it.

 

[davekempmeister]

First, so that this post doesn't appear to throw Allee under the bus, I will offer that I throw my own wax scrapings into the yard.   Lately though, I've been wondering about how history (or my two daughters) will look back on that practice.  Waxes are generally some nasty, fluorinated chemical laden substances, right ?  Same stuff that some Superfund sites are predicated on.

 

I agree that wax scrapings are dirty and probably not something that you'd want to reintroduce to the base of the board, but I also wouldn't want my kids to remember me like I remember neighbors in the 70's who'd pour anything liquid down the drain or sewer.

 

Something I've been thinking about.

[Corey]

I used to throw it in the trash. I'd collect what I could with my hands and a broom, then vacuum the tiny leftovers.

Now I don't have any more scrapings as I use a Wax Wizard. Love it!

[lowrider]

 I'm going to shoot a few holes in Allee's point of view. If you clean the base of the ski before waxing it should be pretty clean before applying the wax. The question might then be what to do with the solvent soaked rag ? If you have a way of gathering the wax after scraping without contaminating it I would reuse it . It really comes down to how much effort do you want to appoint to the task. Checking " Wiki " it would suggest the major component in wax is paraffin and the other ingredients about 1-2 % are the real devils. Math calculation errors aside they suggest about 26,000 lbs of nasty stuff is distributed on the snow in a year in the US. I'm not big on spending a lot of time waxing. I usually start the year with a fresh wax after scraping off storage wax. and maybe once a year hand tune and wax. I don't race and can usually go fast enough to scare myself without the need for more speed todays conditions at the local bump were fast and grippy. Base of the Skwal and skis getting dirty from all that junk on the snow. Maybe it's fast because of all that junk on the snow ! Dave I wouldn't judge yourself to harshly for your contribution to the mess we skiers and boarders create . We are the problem no matter how you justify our behavior. 

[jp1]

'Rays Way Wax Wizard', no more waste  :)

[teach]

Waxes are generally some nasty, fluorinated chemical laden substances, right ?  Same stuff that some Superfund sites are predicated on.

 

Depends on the wax. I never use fluorinated waxes -- too expensive and nasty to work with not even taking environmental considerations into account. Some genuine waxes like those made by Purl are biodegradable. Into what I don't know.

 

+1 on the Wax Whizard. When I do feel a need to hot wax, I crayon the wax on and then iron at low temperature with a sheet of paper between the base and the iron. That makes me feel like I'm less likely to damage the board, and allows the wax to spread evenly and thinly, and also allows a lower temperature to be effective. Pretty much not necessary (in my opinion) to scrape afterwards unless it's really cold out (below zero).

[michael.a]

Reused some scraped off wax a couple of times, the base has to be 100% clean and the shavings have to fall onto something clean (not a dirty workbench) otherwise you're gonna iron in bits of dirt, dust, and metal shavings into the base. I dunno, wasn't worth the hassle. Never had any problems cleaning up though, nowhere near a carpet and use the shop vac.. if I used the nice home carpet vacuum I'd probably get shot.

 

If you want to save on the wax/scrape/wax/scrape, one thing I do is rewax my bases, so I wax normally, place the board on the radiator to let it slowly cool, and then again run the iron over the base. 

[Allee]

First, so that this post doesn't appear to throw Allee under the bus, I will offer that I throw my own wax scrapings into the yard.

 

No problem :-) I actually brush the majority of it into a pile, and throw it in the trash. I only shake off the tarp to get rid of the last few flakes and the dust, so there's not that much going into the yard.

 

[b0ardski]

being a penny pinchin po'boy from a tight pursed Norwegian family that'd give jews & scotts a run

I reuse scrapings from a clean board to wax rock boards or old skis, shouldn't be any issue.

Aint gonna spring for  whax whyzard when a $6 malwart iron and a $5 brass grill brush with a "crayon-iron-brush-iron-brush" technique pretty much eliminates scraping anyway

Edited March 15, 2015 by b0ardski

[That Guy...]

While I don't use the wax wizard, I have developed a technique of hot waxing over the years that generates very little scrapings.  A 4 oz. block of wax lasts me a few years between three or four boards.  No sense putting on a thick layer if 90% is just going to get scraped off and end up on the floor.  What little is scraped off, I just vacuum up.  

[Mike T]

While I don't use the wax wizard, I have developed a technique of hot waxing over the years that generates very little scrapings.  A 4 oz. block of wax lasts me a few years between three or four boards.  No sense putting on a thick layer if 90% is just going to get scraped off and end up on the floor.  What little is scraped off, I just vacuum up.  

 

Ditto.   I only drip it on for summer storage... otherwise I crayon it on and have figured out how much to use such that when I scrape almost nothing comes off.   I'll use the wax wizard for colder waxes but for warm or base prep I will typically crayon then iron.   Sometimes I nail it and there is nothing to scrape - just brush.   

[skidad62]

I hot wax and scrape - I just use my small shop vac mounted under my work bench to get the shavings as soon as done.   Then a 3 stage base buff & polish.

 

May have to experiment with the crayon approach - and to research the wax wizard

Edited March 16, 2015 by skidad62

[MacSkiddin]

And while SkiDad62 does that, I'm enjoying life, and all it costs me is a couple of seconds at the top of the run, and occasional ribbing, of course. I don't scrape. I just leave it on to protect the base. It's not really about speed for me, but a clean garage and base protection.

[buster]

I'm with MacSkiddin, Crayon, iron, ride.

[That Guy...]

And while SkiDad62 does that, I'm enjoying life, and all it costs me is a couple of seconds at the top of the run, and occasional ribbing, of course. I don't scrape. I just leave it on to protect the base. It's not really about speed for me, but a clean garage and base protection.

 

Funny you mention that.  There's been days where I haven't bothered to scrape or brush, and I haven't noticed a perceptible difference in speed between a buffed and polished base and a lumpy, thick layer of wax.  I'm sure a timing system would, though.  All that extra wax is usually gone in a few runs anyway, so what protection is there is short lived.

 

I do, however, notice a huge difference when the temperature/ moisture content of the snow is outside the range of what the wax is good for.  

Edited March 16, 2015 by That Guy...

[Neil Gendzwill]

Where the hot wax and scrape comes to play for me is in the flats. I am usually cruising past everybody. I wax before every trip, so every 3-5 days of riding. I enjoy it, part of the ritual. I do it in the basement and clean up with a Shopvac. I don't give the wasted wax a 2nd thought.

[b0ardski]

I wax every 2-5 days of riding but usually it's just a crayon and iron the 1st inch or 2 at the edges, the middle of the board's good all season

[Missionman]

Great ideas everyone. Thx

I like the idea of crayon on the edges.

Fwiw- I have noticed the difference with a rough wax job. AND the difference of wax outside of its temp is huge.

Thanks guys.

Gerry